FATE
by Kiyoshi'sGirl64
Summary: Hiei believes that he needs no one, that he should love no one. Fate has other ideas. HieixOC.
1. High Is the Moon Tonight

FCL64: I have arrived.

(cricket noises)

Kiyoshi: No one cares.

FCL64: Remind me why I picked you to be the character I discuss everything with?

Kiyoshi: It wasn't a conscious decision, remember? You talk to me in real life, so why not on paper? Anyway, since she is, once again, distracted, here's your disclaimer: FCL64 owns Ella in the prologue. Everyone else… she can wish. She can also wish she owns the song whose lyrics will be the first line of each chapter (_The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun_ by Celtic Woman) and good thing she doesn't lest it sound terrible.

FCL64: I also own Kiyoshi. And his freaky arm plant.

Kiyoshi: Shut up. Not my fault.

FCL64: Payback for saying I'm a bad singer. Oh yeah, and based on what I have from the first ten chapters (yes, I've written that far), the story isn't exactly going in the direction I expected, so I don't really have any idea how long it will take for all the random "plot bunnies" as a reviewer from one of my previous stories put it (if that was you, thanks! I really like the word choice) to resolve themselves.

Kiyoshi: Neither does she realize how easily she begins ranting or gets off topic. Neither does she seem to remember that she isn't in control of the direction of her stories any more than I am (trust me when I tell you she is as surprised you all when there is a plot twist, as am I). In addition, we apologize the beginning author's note is so long. It won't normally be like this. Here's the first chapter.

_

* * *

High is the Moon Tonight…_

A girl who looked to be about seventeen was running down the street. Her feet were clad in plain black flats and she was wearing black leggings beneath her high school uniform. Her eyes were a strange silver shaded, her hair the color of a moonless, midnight sky, complete with strange silver strands the color of stars. A book bag was slung over her left should and she appeared to be running late.

She dashed through the gates of a high school and through the front door. About a minute later she threw open the door to a classroom. A startled teacher looked back at her. "Oops, wrong room!" she said before running back out and going one classroom farther down the hall.

Opening the door, she stepped inside. "Late again, Ella." The teacher said, "That's the third day in a row."

"My apologies, Sensei." She said quickly, bowing.

He laughed. "In light of the fact that you obviously _tried_ to get here on time, just take your seat and be thankful I don't particularly care for the school's tardy policy."

"Thank you, Sensei." The girl said and went to her seat.

"Class, please take out your homework."

She rummaged through her bag before raising her hand. The teacher looked at her and she said, "Ummm, Sensei… I think I left it at home…"

"Again, Ella?"

"Ummm… oops?"

About a mile away a man sat in a tree. His age would have been difficult to determine, as his eyes, now closed, spoke of years more experience than his seemingly young body could have endured. He was dozing off just as a bird on the branch above his began singing. Suddenly it stopped, bursting into flames. "Feh," the man muttered, "Stupid creature." He then closed his eyes again and fell asleep.

Little did these two know that their lives were about to get completely entangled in ways only one person could imagine. That person was obviously very powerful. And she was currently sitting in a completely different realm, bored out of her mind. Then the moon rising high over Japan in the middle of the day catches her eye. And beneath it, two individuals.

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FCL64: And that is the prologue! Sorry it isn't very long. Please review!


	2. Hiding Its Guiding Light

FCL64: Kiyoshi and I are back! Aren't you guys excited?

Kiyoshi: This chapter she owns Yuri in addition to Ella.

FCL64: Well, what are you waiting for? Go on, read it cause it makes me happy!

* * *

_Hiding It's Guiding Light…_

"Again, Ella?" A girl asked, shaking her head.

Ella giggled, walking backward. "I can't help it. You humans are so _weird_. Why does there have to be a particular time for everything, and nothing outside its particular time? I find it fascinating, Yuri, you know that!"

"Yes. Well, I need to get home; my mom will be wondering where I am. Stay out of trouble! Remember I'll be gone tomorrow and this weekend, so there'll be no one to keep you in line." Yuri grinned, "No one to logically explain away anything strange you do."

"I'll be fine," Ella assured her. "I survived for _years_ without your help!"

"In _Makai_. _Not_ the human realm. People here start to wonder if you stick out to much. And Ella, with that hair and all your odd habits, you stick out like a sore thumb. And the last time I wasn't here, you walked around the city—and school—all day long without shoes on!"

Ella just laughed again, remembering all the stares she had gotten that day. "I'll be fine. Nothing will happen."

She couldn't have known that, at that very moment, she was being watched. A woman with hair that changed colors with the light had seen this lone demon in the human plane. She saw something very rare in that girl. Someone who saw no boundaries between the human and the demonic. To her they were all just… people.

But this girl was not the only one this apparently all-seeing woman was watching at that time. She also saw the man asleep in the tree. She had been watching him for almost a year now. He, too, was a demon. But, as far as personalities went, he and Ella couldn't have been more different.

He was cold, estranged from everyone around him. The only person in the world he cared for was his twin sister, although she was unaware of their biological relationship. His involvement in the Dark Tournament and the missions of Koenma's spirit detectives had brought him to the woman's attention. And she felt that alone was no way to live one's life.

Of the four, one was head-over-heels in love with this man's sister. Another was happy when he fought and happy when he was around a particular girl he had loved longer than he was willing to admit. They were a match she would have made, but they hadn't needed her help. The third had almost lost his life, but was now content living among humans with a human mother. Talk about a one-eighty from the vicious demon he once was. Only this one was unhappy.

Now, walking home, Ella would pass his tree. Perfect. But it wasn't time to get personally involved. Not yet. Hiding her guidance often worked better than working directly with the people. Just as she was walking by, the woman leaned down and blew a breath of wind through the trees. It caught Ella's papers, several of which got stuck in the tree Hiei was currently sleeping in.

She looked down at her now-empty arms, the expression on her face one of mild surprise. It seemed to say, "Now how in the world did that happen? I'm sure there were papers in my arms a minute ago…"

Looking up, as if that were the most logical place to search for lost papers, she spotted her biology homework in the tree. She laughed, "Why thank you, Mr. Tree! You have found my papers for me."

Hiei's eyes widened in wonder at this strange comment, having been woken by Ella's tinkling laugh. He could see her through the branches as she moved toward the base of the tree, where she kicked off her shoes. Humming to herself, she placed one calloused foot on an almost-nonexistent foothold and began to climb the tree.

When she reached the lowest branch, that look of mild surprise crossed her face again. Hiei just stared back, no expression touching his features. He blinked once as those startling silver eyes continued to stare at him in wonder. "You're not human," she said.

Normally Hiei wouldn't have dignified a statement as obvious as that one with a response. But, for some reason, he found himself answering, in spite of himself, "So? You aren't human either."

She pulled herself up onto his branch and looked down at her pale hands. Then she answered cheerfully, "I know."

She then swung out to the end of the branch, her small frame barely shaking the tree. She grabbed her papers then looked back at Hiei, "My name's Ella. What's yours?"

"Hiei." Why he had given his name to this strange apparition he couldn't have said. She just made you _want_ to talk to her somehow. Maybe it was the fact that you got the impression she wouldn't remember anything you said anyway.

"Hiei? That sounds familiar…" This he had never heard before. Either people had heard of him, or they hadn't. And if they had, they knew exactly who he was and feared him for it. This girl just shrugged. "Well, bye!" She then dropped from the tree and scampered off after her other papers, leaving her shoes beneath Hiei's tree.

"Grab her shoes and go after her," the woman watching them urged, not that Hiei could hear her. "Take them to her. You're fast; you can catch her."

Hiei saw the shoes, briefly wondered if she'd come back for them, then promptly fell back to sleep.

* * *

FCL64: There's that chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!

Kiyoshi: Yes. We both do. FCL64 is here to write the chapter… I'm here to keep her on-track.

FCL64: What's that supposed to mean?

Kiyoshi: It means you've been drinking Dr. Pepper and are currently shaking from a caffeine/sugar rush. You get distracted enough when you're not shaky from too much sugar.

FCL64: Thanks so much. Well, please review!

Kiyoshi: Speaking of reviews...

FCL64: Oh yes! We have several very nice people who reviewed! Yay! Here they are:  
SecretPassion21: Glad you're looking forward to this update! The title sounds familiar... I'll check it out!  
no name 128: I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. Also it makes me very happy that you read my other story and liked enough to start reading this one!  
animegrlsteph: yes... took me long enough to start posting didn't it? even now i'm not sure if i have enough chapters written in advance... hmmm... i guess we'll find out.

Kiyoshi: Until next time, then!

FCL64: Adios! Did you know that word comes from a spanish phrase meaning 'I commend you to God'?

Kiyoshi: Easily distracted? I think so. We're going now. (drags the author away from her computer.)


	3. Heaven and Earth Do Sleep

FCL64: I'm back! Who's excited?

Kiyoshi: Well…

FCL64: Thanks, Kiyoshi. You really help my self-esteem. Why are you so sarcastic around me but no one else?

Kiyoshi: One, no one else can see or hear me. Two, you're the only one I feel comfortable enough around—including characters in your other story—to be that sarcastic; anyone else I just think it. The insanity that you are the only person I trust… Third, anyone else makes me mad, I will attack them. You on the other hand… I attack you and you pull your "I'm the author I can do whatever I want" crap on me and turn yourself into a fire-breathing ninja pirate or something else ridiculous.

FCL64: A fire-breathing ninja pirate?! What a great idea Kiyoshi! (hugs him) Now I know why I like you so much!

Kiyoshi: (groans) What have I done? Before I give her any more brilliant ideas, here's the story. Flashbacks are in _italics_ and she only owns Yuri and Ella. (suddenly distracted by flaming couch) What did you do?!

* * *

_Heaven and Earth Do Sleep…_

Ella picked up the last of her papers and decided she was hungry. Shoving the papers in her bag she walked into the nearest restaurant. The man behind the counter looked at her a moment then said, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Why?" She asked, bewildered. He pointed to a sign on the door. _No shoes, no shirt, no service_. She looked down and saw her bare feet. "Now how did that happen?" she wondered aloud. Then she looked at the employee and said, "Thanks for pointing out that I have apparently lost my shoes again. I best go look for them." She smiled dazzlingly then seemed to float out the door. She left the cashier confused in regards to how someone could lose their shoes and not realize it.

Ella danced down the street singing to herself. People stopped to stare openly at the small barefoot figure with the lovely voice. She walked all the way back to the school but failed to find her shoes. Part of this was that she had forgotten she took them off to climb the tree. Another part of this was that something had possessed Hiei to climb down from his branch and grab them, lest they be stolen before she returned.

Finally Ella went home, not the least bit dismayed. They were just shoes. Almost immediately she fell asleep. As she did, Hiei stared at those shoes. And the strange woman watched him. She was happy with this outcome; it had gone better than she had expected, if not as well as she had hoped. The next day, Friday, somehow passed without Ella forgetting anything important. How that happened, no one was really sure. But Saturday morning, very early, she found herself drawn to the tree in which she had met Hiei. She sat down beneath it, wondering if he'd come back. Of course she couldn't just climb the tree to see if he was still there. So the woman helped a bit. A huge gust of wind blew through the park and the demon asleep in the tree was hit by it. Unprepared, Hiei was knocked off his branch and fell to the ground, right in front of Ella.

She looked at him a moment, then, "You fell."

Hiei glared at her a moment before pulling some small shoes from beneath his cloak and throwing them to the ground next to her. "Those are yours." He then turned and ran off.

Without thinking she grabbed her shoes and raced after him. She had always been fast; maybe not as fast as Hiei, but close. And since he wasn't running his hardest she easily caught up. "Why are you running Hiei? I wanted to talk to you."

He didn't respond.

"Thank you for keeping my shoes." Again, no response, and Ella stopped short, watching him fade quickly into the distance. She stood stationary for several minutes, the familiar pangs of loneliness and abandonment tugging at her heart. But she couldn't understand why. She had only met Hiei twice. Why did his ignoring her and running off bring back these memories? Yuri left for short amounts of time rather often and that didn't bring these feelings. Was it simply because he was a demon? Carrying her black shoes in one hand she walked back home, an empty expression on her normally happy face. In truth she wasn't seeing the city before her, not even the same realm.

_A much younger Ella stands in an empty hut. "Ma?" she calls out. "Ma, where are you?" There is no reply. She walks outside. The day is clear and nothing is out of place, except that her mother is gone._

_She wanders away from that house, somehow knowing there is nothing left for her there. She walks for days, her eyes bright with tears, always searching for her mother's aura. After four days she comes upon an encampment, row after row of tents. Walking through them, the young Ella sees a girl about her age watching her. "What is this place?" she asks._

_The girl smiles, revealing sharp, pointed teeth. "We're gypsies. We set up camp here last night. We'll probably stay for a few more days, then move on. You can stay too, if you want and come with us when we leave."_

_Ella nods. But soon she finds that being part of a gypsy tribe doesn't suit her at all. They steal and plunder to survive and they cannot understand why she doesn't like it. The young ones bug her about it enough that one day she simply gets up, says goodbye to the girl—her first friend—and walks away without so much as a single glance back._

_For years she travels, soon giving up hope of ever finding her mother. She also gives up any hope she had of finding somewhere where she belongs. But once she does that, she finds she is happy. She dances and sings. She brings joy to anyone she interacts with through her gratefulness for life and enjoyment of the simple things._

_Out of the blue a young man approaches her. He asks to travel with her and she accepts, happy to not be alone. They travel together for a long while and become best friends._

_Then the day comes when assassins come after him. Barely escaping with their lives, he then tells her the truth. He has angered a man named Yomi, one of the most powerful demons in the demon plane. He feels it is a miracle he has avoided him for this long. He also mentions that he credits even that to Ella. Her erratic nature made their path unpredictable and hard to follow._

_Then Ella sees the hand gripped over his stomach. Blood is seeping through his fingers. Try as she might, she cannot heal him. The wound has damaged too many internal organs and he dies. Ella feels guilty for not being able to save his life. But she cannot help but feel betrayed and abandoned by him, even though she knows it isn't his fault. She decides she will never be close to anyone again in order to avoid the hurt._

_She escapes into the human world and almost immediately meets a girl named Yuri. The girl seems sincere when she tries to help Ella and Ella quickly forgets her vow of staying separated from others. In a matter of weeks she is back to being her usual sunny self, although she is still plagued by the occasional memories of the friend she traveled with for over a decade. But her life improves when she enters high school with Yuri. She trusts Yuri completely, for Yuri doesn't leave her even when she learns of Ella's demonic nature._

But not even Yuri knew of Ella's past in Makai. At least not the details. Just that her life had been hard and she had lost the only people she was close to.

Now the woman watched as Ella walked home oblivious to everything. When the girl sat down and began to stare at a blank wall, she began to worry. Had she miscalculated somehow? Were they not the match she had thought they would be? No, it was the right pair; she had never made a mistake before. Besides, if they weren't right for each other, why would his callousness have hurt her so much? And why would he have saved her shoes?

The woman stood, stretching her arms. It appeared she was going to have to get personally involved. Wind was her favorite technique. But she normally tried some other things—whispering in people's ears to put ideas in their heads, for example—before she took such drastic measures. But Hiei's stubbornness coupled with Ella's uncertainty of others made it obvious that she had no other choice. A trip to the human world was in order. She muttered a few words and stepped unnoticed through a portal into the city in which Ella lived.

Meanwhile, in Reikai, Koenma did something he hadn't done in centuries. He interrupted one of his dad's meetings. "Dad. She's just reappeared. In the human world."

But neither the underworld nor those in the human realm knew what she was planning.

* * *

FCL64: Hope y'all enjoyed that!

Kiyoshi: Y'all?

FCL64: Yes, y'all. And just so _y'all_ know, next chapter you'll probably get a description of this one that annoys me.

Kiyoshi: This one? By that I assume you mean me?

FCL64: Maybe…

Kiyoshi: (shakes head)

FCL64: Thanks to animegrlsteph, my only reviewer!

Kiyoshi: _Your_ only reviewer?

FCL64: You mean to take partial credit, then? _Our_ only reviewer, as the case may be. Well until next time, then!

Kiyoshi: Goodbye!


	4. Still In the Dark So Deep

FCL64: Once again, I have returned. And as promised, _y'all_ shall get a description of Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi: The joy, the rapture.

FCL64: Someone's cranky today.

Kiyoshi: No, I just don't like people talking about me.

FCL64: Would you like to be part of the conversation?

Kiyoshi: No…

FCL64: Then quit complaining. Kiyoshi is five foot seven and fifteen years old (his birthday is April 17).

Kiyoshi: Technically, I haven't been born yet. My birthday is April 17, 2147.

FCL64: I'll use the technicalities around here, thank you very much. The story he's from takes place in 2163, if that clears anything up. Anyway, he has black hair that generally reaches down anywhere from the bottom of his ears to almost his shoulders. He has very dark green eyes. Even though he's human, his most defining feature is the plant growing out of his left forearm. It's a vine, it's purple, and if it doesn't like you and you touch it, you might die, so beware…

Kiyoshi: You are _so_ overly-dramatic.

FCL64: This is true. I only own Ella and Yuri. Here's the chapter!

* * *

_Still in the Dark So Deep…_

Yuri got back to school on Monday and Ella wasn't there. She didn't worry too much in first hour, figuring Ella was just running a bit later than usual. But by third hour, she still hadn't arrived and Yuri had begun to fret.

Ella had missed school only once before. She had gotten sick in the middle of the day and gone to the school nurse. A boy had been there at the same time, helping the nurse with some things. Seeing Ella, he had blinked in surprise. He had then glanced at Yuri as if unsure of how to proceed.

Almost as though she knew what he was thinking, Ella had said, "It's alright. She knows." From this Yuri had gathered that this boy was a demon like Ella.

His eyes widened in shock, but only for a moment, before he said, "I'm Shuichi. You ate the school lunch, didn't you?" Ella nodded weakly. Shuichi continued, "First time?" She nodded again. "Well, for future reference, most of those foods are covered in a preservative that contains traces of a plant highly toxic to most demons. I suggest you go home and recuperate."

Yuri had muttered darkly, "I always knew eating the school food could kill you." The boy Shuichi had looked at her strangely for a moment before he burst out laughing. He had been a year higher than them at the time. But to everyone's surprise, the school's smartest student hadn't graduated with his class. Instead he had spent his senior year studying abroad and had returned this year to graduate with Yuri and Ella's class.

Now Yuri sought out him out, easily finding the brilliant red hair in the halls. "Hello, Shuichi. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you? And how is Ella?"

"Well… I wanted to ask you if Ella ate the school food again. Because she isn't here today. And I'm worried."

"I don't think she did. I was helping in the nurse's office for most of Friday afternoon. But even if she had, I'd think she would be better by now."

The worried look on Yuri's face deepened. "Where is she then?"

Shuichi thought a moment then grabbed her hand and began dragging her toward the front of the school. "Let's go. You know where she lives, right?"

"But it's the middle of the day…" Yuri protested.

"We'll skip. Making sure Ella is okay is worth skipping class, don't you think?" Yuri nodded, surprised the boy they barely knew would be willing to do this for her friend.

Soon they arrived at the place Ella lived. "She lives here?" Shuichi asked in surprise. Not many people who went to Meio Private High lived over here.

"Yes… she got in on a scholarship. She is very intelligent, if completely scatterbrained and lacking in common sense. She has a job to pay the relatively low rent and buy food. She just lives day to day. That's what she's best at; living in the present." Yuri responded.

"I wish I could do that more…" Shuichi muttered.

"That makes two of us." Yuri then led him up some steps and pulled out a key ring. "When she decided to rent this apartment, I made her give me a key. She didn't have a choice. She's too likely to lose the key for me to allow her to carry _both_ copies."

Shuichi chuckled. "You said she was… scatterbrained. How scatterbrained are we talking?"

Yuri thought a moment, "She always shows up to work and school. Not necessarily on time, but she's there. She always pays her rent on time. She's there when I truly need her. But she's apt to forget things like shoes or homework. She eats when she's hungry and sleeps when she's tired, and it doesn't matter when or where. She basically knows what's important and doesn't worry about things that aren't. Again, I envy that in her." Yuri finally found the right key.

Opening the door, they stepped through into an oppressive silence. This only served to worry Yuri more; if Ella was home there invariably some kind of noise. And if Ella wasn't home, Yuri had no clue as to where she might be.

Walking down the hall Shuichi and Yuri saw several unfinished paint jobs, all bright colors. Yuri didn't give them a second thought as many of them had been there for months. Shuichi just wondered at the girl's lack of follow-through.

Turning into Ella's bedroom, Yuri found the only thing that could frighten her more than finding the apartment empty. Ella sat on her bed staring at the half-painted, bright orange wall. But it was obvious she wasn't actually seeing the wall. Her soul was trapped in the dark.

Yuri's bag and keys hit the floor as she rushed to her listless friend. "Ella? Ella!" she called. "What's wrong?"

Shuichi hovered in the door, recognizing that this wasn't a physical condition so there was really nothing he could do. He watched as Yuri shook an unresponsive Ella. After a few minutes she jumped up and ran out of the room. She quickly returned with a bowl of water and began flicking it in Ella's face. Ella blinked in shock.

Yuri sighed in relief, "Ella, what's wrong?"

In a dead voice she replied, "I lost my homework on Friday. I took off my shoes to climb the tree it got stuck in. Then I forgot them…"

"Again, Ella?" Yuri asked, exasperated.

Ella hardly seemed to hear her but continued, "When I went back there was this guy…"

Yuri's eyes widened, "Oh, lord."

"He's a demon… he said his name was Hiei…"

In the door, Shuichi started and unintentionally echoed Yuri's last words, "Oh, lord."

* * *

FCL64: Well, that's a good ending, don't you think Kiyoshi?

Kiyoshi: Are you actually asking my opinion?

FCL64: Yes.

Kiyoshi: Actually… I like it, but I'm a bit biased since I'm in your head.

FCL64: Very true. Since Kiyoshi can't tell me, why don't you guys? Please review!

Kiyoshi: Speaking of reviews...

FCL64: Oh, yes! Thanks to my two reviewers! I love you guys!  
animegrlsteph: glad you still like it, and we're on chapter four now (that means only four more chapters till you get to read something new!)  
TwilightFever-FutureCullen: Thanks for your review! I love writing flashbacks, although this one was kind of strange, in that the flashback was written in present tense while the rest of the story is written in past tense... makes things confusing, let me tell you. And the idea that Hiei doesn't automatically fall in love with her is the entire premise of the story. (In other words, once he's fallen in love with her, the story is over, because I don't write romance. This is as close as it gets.) As for introducing Ella in a very unique way-appropriate, I think because she is very unique.


	5. I Will the Darkness Sweep

FCL64: I am back!

Kiyoshi: You never left!

FCL64: Whatever. Here's the chapter. I only own Ella, Yuri, and the woman.

* * *

_I Will the Darkness Sweep…_

"You know him?" Yuri asked Shuichi suspiciously.

"I've worked with him. He's as much of a friend as anyone can consider Hiei a friend," Shuichi muttered.

"Well next time you see him, you better tell him I'm going to kill him for what he's done to Ella." Yuri's eyes blazed and Shuichi didn't like where this was going.

"Yuri, that's really not a good idea."

"And why not?" the girl challenged.

Shuichi sighed. "As Ella said, he's a demon. Demons have power levels, or classifications. D is the lowest classification, then B, C, and A. Then there is S which is a whole different story."

"Your point?"

"Most humans could be considered lucky to match a D-class demon in terms of power. Based on her aura, I'd guess Ella is low-B. You know Yusuke Urameshi?"

"Who doesn't? But what does he have to do with our conversation?"

"He's an S-class demon. But he has a much higher tolerance for what most demons consider human stupidity. Because of his power level though, it's technically illegal for him to be in this realm. Come to that, it's illegal for Hiei and me to be here as we're both A. I doubt he'd kill you if you attacked him. But that's because he'd be arrested as well as dealing with a mere human would bore him."

"Then what do you propose I do?" Yuri snapped.

"You take care of Ella; I'll deal with Hiei."

Yuri hesitated before nodding.

* * *

Kurama walked out of the girl's apartment. He didn't know her well, but seeing that fire in her dampened so badly by one of his friends hurt him somehow. Maybe it was that, in Ella, he saw someone who had likely seen horrible things yet still retained her innocence.

By the time he found Hiei, he was fuming. "What the hell did you do?"

"When?"

"I don't know _when_, I just see its results _now_. What could you have said to Ella that would make her so unresponsive? She's lifeless, Hiei. And when we asked her what was wrong, _your_ name came up."

"So?"

"She is one of the most spirited people I've ever met. She enjoys simply being alive. And now she's sitting on her bed, staring at the wall. Staring but not seeing. Because of something you did or said."

Hiei went on the defensive against Kurama's barbed words. Why he cared what Kurama thought of some demon pretending to be a human schoolgirl, he wasn't sure. "I returned her shoes. Then I left. When she followed, I ignored her."

Kurama's voice was cold, "That is rude, even for you." With that he left, leaving Hiei to wonder if he had really hurt the girl as badly as Kurama seemed to think he had.

* * *

Yuri stayed with Ella. Eventually Ella slumped backwards, asleep, exhausted from staring at a wall for forty-eight hours straight. Soon afterwards, Yuri heard a click—the sound of the front door closing. But other than Ella she was the only one with a key. Nervously she made her way out towards Ella's kitchen. There she found what had to be the only person who could match Ella when it came to strange, natural appearances. At least when it came to the people Yuri had met.

The woman before her was tall. Her straight hair was long and stopped around the middle of her back. It changed color every time she moved. Her clothes were a deep green and seemed to float, somehow, as if the laws of gravity didn't apply to them. They simply clung to the woman of her own accord. She, too, didn't seem bound by the laws of physics. She seemed to _hover_ before _gliding_ toward Yuri. "Is Ella asleep?"

"Who are you?"

"I asked first."

"Yes. Now, who are you?"

The woman smiled. "Names are of little consequence. They change so frequently. All that matters is that I am here. That doesn't happen often."

A knock at the door made Yuri jump. She answered it to find Shuichi had returned. "He's unrepentant."

"That's now the _least_ of our problems. There's a weird woman here and she won't tell me who she is or why she's here," Yuri hissed.

Shuichi's voice immediately dropped, "There's someone else here? Right now?"

"Yes. She just came in, picked the lock or something," Yuri answered.

Shuichi stepped inside, unnerved because he could only feel Yuri's and Ella's auras. The woman before him now was either very adept at completely concealing her aura or she simply didn't have one he could sense. For some reason, he suspected it was the latter, even though he'd only met one other person whose aura ever felt that way. "Who are you?" he demanded, using a voice Yuri had never heard issue from the redhead.

The woman countered his question with one of her own, "Who are _you_?"

"Shuichi Minamino," he replied without hesitating.

"Why should I be honest with you if you are not honest with me?"

By this point, Yuri was completely confused. Shuichi however, knew exactly the game she was playing. "If you know that's not my name, I wonder why you ask."

"Clever as ever, my little fox friend," the woman chuckled, "I did enjoy pulling strings in your life… you never responded the way I thought you would…"

Something suddenly clicked in Shuichi's mind. The strange aura, the way she had just walked in, how she knew exactly who he was—"Oh god. You're not—"

"I am."

Yuri was finally tired of being left out of the loop. "Who are you? And why are you in Ella's apartment?" she shouted.

The woman turned to her and said serenely, "I have many different names. Fate. Destiny. Coincidence. Karma. Mother Earth. In essence, I am the force behind the small, strange happenings in the world. I am the being that judges you while you are alive, and decides whether or not you deserve reward or retribution for your actions. I am the one that helps the earth provide for you, to take care of you. And I came to the human realm because Hiei is stubbornly refusing to talk to Ella, who has been abandoned enough times that she can't even comprehend the idea of following him. I am hear to sweep the darkness from their lives." That sparkling smile again, that seemed to hide what she was really meaning behind the cover of her beauty.

Yuri was attempting to process the idea that Fate was an actually _person_. Shuichi however had jumped to her last words. "You mean you want _Hiei_… and _Ella_… _together_?"

"Yep."

Yuri spoke into Shuichi's stunned silence. "I'd say that was a terrible idea and that you shouldn't try it. But you probably know more about this than I do and fighting Fate is never a good idea. So how can we help?"

* * *

Kiyoshi: Talk about a one-eighty on Yuri's part.

FCL64: No doubt. Now, time for bed!

Kiyoshi: It's five thirty…

FCL64: But it's dark out.

Kiyoshi: Since when does that mean you go to sleep? You are a night person. If you could you would stay up till two or three in the morning every night and sleep in till ten.

FCL64: What's wrong with that?

Kiyoshi: (sighs and walks away)

FCL64: What's wrong with it? Kiyoshi! Get back here and tell me! (chases after Kiyoshi and then tackles him).

Ella: I forgot why I'm here…

Yuri: I will be answering the reviews, as the author and Kiyoshi are… occupied. (flames erupt from behind Yuri and Ella)

Kiyoshi: Not fair! NO FLAMING MY POOR PLANTS!

Yuri: Anyway… there was only one review given to the last chapter so muchas gracias a animegrlsteph. El fin!


	6. I Will the Moon to Flight

FCL64: Hello, good citizens, I have returned!

Kiyoshi: Well, here's the chapter!

FCL64: Wait, aren't we going to have a conversation Kiyoshi?!

Kiyoshi: No.

FCL64: Why not? Are you mad at me?!

Kiyoshi: Yes. You're spending all your time writing this story instead of working on the story that is actually being posted right now. You know, the story that has _reviewers_ who are waiting for an _update_?

FCL64: Oh, yeah… well, I only own Ella, Yuri, Fate, and Gentlom, although he doesn't really take an active role in this chapter…

Kiyoshi: The names you come up with…

FCL64: Shut up. I don't even remember what yours means.

* * *

_I Will the Moon to Flight…_

"But why Ella?" Shuichi asked before committing himself to a cause he thought to be more than a little insane.

"You see how she enjoys life? Have you met many people like that? Or people who hold no prejudices based on whether you're human or demon?" Fate replied serenely.

Shuichi paused before answering, "No."

"Don't you see? Ella deserves so much more than she has."

"But she's happy with what little she has."

Fate shook her head, rainbow colors glinting in every direction. "I didn't mean _material_ things. She deserves to have more _people who care_. She deserves love."

Shuichi nodded, understanding this. Then something else occurred to him. "Ella makes sense. But then… why _Hiei_?"

Fate smiled sadly. "He isn't as bad of a person as everyone thinks. Or even as bad as he thinks. His life was hard, but a lot of that wasn't his fault."

Shuichi looked significantly at the deity before him and she immediately caught his drift. "No! It wasn't _me_. First off, I don't have _time_ to intervene in the lives of every single being out there! Sometimes things just happen! If the situation doesn't seem unlikely or completely unavoidable, I probably wasn't involved! I don't have a bunch of ogres running around doing half of my work! And the situation of someone's birth isn't up to me anyway, and that situation is half his problem!" she protested. Then she added, "Hiei deserves more than he has, too. He may seem… content, but he's not happy."

Shuichi sighed. "I give up. You win. I'll help you, against my better judgment." He paused but before he could continue there was a blur of black and silver hair and the slamming of a the door.

"How long before she realizes school just got out?" Shuichi asked looking at his watch.

"Oh. She probably won't figure it out until she gets there," Yuri said, assuring him that they had time. "Now what were you going to say?"

"Ah, yes. Fate, you mentioned _ogres_. Was that a reference to Koenma?"

"Who's Koenma?" Yuri asked, confused.

"The prince of the Underworld."

"Underworld?!" Now that one she had heard of, probably from Ella.

Turning to Fate, Shuichi said, "Well?"

She sighed. "Prince of the Underworld… Yes, it was a reference to… Koenma. He's my brother."

* * *

"Why did you interrupt my meeting?" Enma boomed.

Koenma averted his eyes and mumbled, "My sister's aura just appeared in the human world."

Enma's eyes grew wide. He snapped his fingers and his special defense force appeared almost immediately. "Code C, human world," he said, "If she resists, don't use force; she's too powerful for you to bring in without her cooperation. Just follow her."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

Shuichi shook his head. "I wondered…"

"My aura?"

He nodded. "Yes. I can't feel it at all. I get the sense it's _there_ but can't actually feel it. Maybe it's just beyond the scope of anything I could handle. But why haven't I seen or heard about you in Reikai?"

Fate sighed once again. "My father, my siblings and I had a… falling-out."

"_Siblings_? Plural? As in, more than one?"

"Yes. My father and… Koenma thought I should take care of only humans, that demons were powerful enough to fend for themselves. I disagreed. Similarly, my other brother was asked to stop creating demons altogether. Father and… Koenma felt they might take over all the realms because of their power and their lifespan, which is just the way my brother creates them. He disagreed. And he and I left."

It was Yuri who asked the next question, "Why do you pause before you say his name?"

The woman before her smiled rather bitterly. "His name isn't really _Koenma_. I knew him by a much different name. He apparently took that name after we left. First of all, he and Father set up that stupid force field between the realms, despite the fact that they knew it would impede not only my work, but my brother's work as well. I guess Father decided that us leaving was us giving up our jobs and our birthrights should he die."

"You guys can… _die_?" Yuri asked in shock.

"Yes. Reikai is a living realm, same as Makai or the human realm. The life or incarnation of any particular soul isn't over until _after_ it leaves Reikai. Although, it is much harder to kill us. But the possibility of death is why Father and… Koenma fear demons. An organized demon revolt could end us."

"Oh…"

"Yes…" Fate sighed, "But in reality… Koenma is not the sole heir. The three of us are triplets with supposedly equal power, birthrights, and say in Reikai." Fate looked down at her hands before looking up to meet Shuichi's eyes. "Our given names are Gentlom, Cītā, and Dheunos."

"…Birth…Life…Death…" Shuichi breathed, "The Three Fates. The ones who determine the course of history. Your will… what you want… it can dramatically change everything. You could stop the moon from rising if you wanted to."

Fate shook her head to deny that power but before she could reply, a door slammed and all three of them jumped. Yuri spun around to see Ella frozen in the doorway, surprise covering her face. "Why are you here Shuichi?"

"You weren't at school today so Yuri and I were worried." He replied calmly, deciding half-truths were best.

Her startling silver eyes blinked once and then her gaze shifted to Fate. "You have a weird aura," she stated.

Fate's head tilted slightly to the side, as if in wonder, and Shuichi's eyes snapped to attention. "You can sense her aura?" he asked in amazement.

"Yes," Ella answered, "Can't you?"

"No… I can't… I can feel that something is there, but I cannot actually sense the aura… her power level is too great…" Shuichi muttered.

"Oh. It's a very strange feeling. It isn't human or demonic or any combination of the two…" she trailed off, attempting to pinpoint what it could be.

Fate smiled at Shuichi's confusion. "Ella isn't powerful in the way most demons are. She has speed but her physical abilities end there. For reasons known only to himself, it would appear that my brother figured out how and chose to manipulate her genetics so she could sense the energies of deities."

"Godly energy?" Shuichi gasped, grasping what Fate was saying.

The room stood still with Fate's reply. "Yes," she mused, "Somehow a demon has developed an ability even my brothers and I do not possess. The ability to sense the full extent of a god's aura."

* * *

Kiyoshi: It may just be me, but that chapter was longer than most for this story.

FCL64: That's what I thought, too.

Kiyoshi: Just to clear something up, that confused me when FCL64 first wrote this: Ella's sixth sense is insanely powerful, and will be elaborated on in the following chapters. But other than that sense and her speed, she really isn't all that powerful.

FCL64: Upper C. Shuichi/Kurama was wrong when he estimated, but he wasn't off by much when he said low B. But this story is getting very weird (don't think I don't know that; just beware that it gets much weirder around chapter fourteen; I know, I know: if I've written that far ahead, why haven't I posted in such a long time. Cause I'm lazy).

Kiyoshi: Thanks for that.

FCL64: No problem.

Kiyoshi: Also, the names of the three fates are _supposedly_ Indo-European for Birth, Life, and Death. But FCL64 just googled a translation, so we don't know if it's accurate. Indo-European is the language Latin came from, according to her Latin teacher, so it's completely archaic, but whether or not the one translator she found was the same language he was talking about is up for debate.

FCL64: (hugging Kiyoshi) Thanks Kiyoshi! Now here's Ella and Yuri to answer any reviews!

Ella: What reviews? You're posting this the same day you posted chapter five.


	7. I Will the Heavens Bright

FCL64: I'm ba-ack!

Kiyoshi: We kno-oow. If you weren't there wouldn't be an update.

FCL64: You. Are. Annoying.

Kiyoshi: I. Know. Get on with the chapter. You left them with a very foul cliff hanger.

FCL64: Fine. But there is no such thing as a foul cliff hanger. All cliff hangers are good.

* * *

_I Will the Heavens Bright…_

"What's the big deal with her energy? It just feels different than anything I've ever felt before. Why does it matter? I mean, everything has an aura."

"Normal people can't feel the extent of my or my brothers' auras," Fate muttered, "We can't feel the extent of each other's. Yet you can."

Then Shuichi interrupted. "Did you say everything has an aura? By that do you mean _everyone_? Or every _being_?"

Ella tilted her head slightly to the side, confused by his question. "I mean every_thing_." She turned to Fate and said, "Your aura is the most extensive I've ever seen. But," she turned back to Shuichi, "everything has a spirit. Humans and demons are close when it comes to energy. The variation is more by individual. Then animals. Then plants. Then minerals and rocks and such… they don't have much, since they're not actually alive. But they do have an energy of their own. The things that possess the least energy are manmade things. I haven't really figured that one out yet. Maybe it's because they weren't created by deities… but they still radiate slight energies…"

Shuichi looked ready to say something, but Yuri hushed him, knowing Ella well enough to see both that she wasn't done speaking and that if someone interrupted her now she would lose her train of thought and they would never hear what she was about to say. Sure enough, after a few moments, she continued, "And I've always gotten the sense that all these energies are basically the same, made of the same stuff. Like everything is made of atoms, but it's all so different… that and I feel that everything is drawing from the same power source… but for that to be true, the concentration of energy would need to be so incredibly vast…" Suddenly she stopped and asked, "Where do you guys think the energy comes from? And where does it go when we release it?"

Kurama looked at Yuri and then Fate, taken aback. What Ella was saying defied everything he had ever believed about aura, energy, spirit. Sure, objects could be endowed with an aura… but the concept that they already had their own baffled him. It didn't seem to stun Fate so much, even if she hadn't thought of it that way before. He answered slowly. "You mean to say even inanimate objects emit energy? And that before we emit the energy, we are drawing it in from an outside source? Like food and physical energy, but spiritual energy instead?"

Ella nodded vigorously a moment then stopped suddenly. "Can't you feel it? I always wondered at it, wondered where the energy comes from, where the energy goes. Where the Life Source lives."

"Life Source…" Yuri muttered. "Life Source. You've mentioned that before, Ella. That's what you call God."

Shuichi put a hand to his head. "This is getting very bizarre. And if I don't know what bizarre looks like after leading a double life for eighteen years… Let me get this straight. Ella, you are saying _everything_, large or small, alive or inanimate, has an energy of its own? And that everything draws that energy from one source, to which the energy returns once it is used? And that this Life Source, or God, or whatever, is not the same being as Fate and her brothers?"

Ella nodded. "I can't pinpoint where it is. The Life Source is everywhere and nowhere. It's all around us and within us. I can only think that it doesn't exist on the same plane of existence as the rest of us."

There was an awkward silence as everyone processed this. Then Fate said, "I did tell you that Reikai was a living realm. And, honestly, no one in Reikai is one hundred percent sure what happens to souls after they die. We have vague ideas. Some have tried following—my mother for instance—but once you leave Reikai, you don't come back. Well you might, in a new form, but then we have no way to recognize you."

Ella looked at Fate a moment, then at Shuichi, then at Yuri. "Why don't you guys know this stuff? I thought everyone with a sixth sense could feel all the energies around them."

In her innocence she had taken for granted the fact that the energies of objects and deities were detectable to no one but herself. And that plant auras were felt by only a select few. Shuichi was one of them, and the fact that he could feel the plants' life and most could not was the one reason he could believe her words. Fate said gently, "You have the strongest sense of anyone I've ever met. Only you can sense some of the energies you speak of. And only you can sense the flow of energy before and after its use. But we believe you." The Fate looked around. Then a wide smile spread across her face. "But we are about to get a few of visitors. My will. What I wanted will eventually happen. I can feel it. Even if it comes with a… minor set back."

Soon after, Shuichi, too, felt Hiei's aura. Ella remained oblivious. Her sense was constantly bombarded by so much energy, there was little she could do to avoid missing something if she wasn't looking for a specific aura. But Fate had spoken of multiple visitors. She had sensed Hiei coming, as well as some auras of people not quite human and not quite demons. People from Reikai. And a strange distorting of energy Shuichi couldn't even feel that meant only one thing. One of her brothers was coming. And since the distorted energy was not with the people from Reikai, she could guess who. Gentlom was coming. It had been a long time since one of her jobs had excited this much interest in her.

"Holy crap." Koenma said, eyes widening.

"What, Dheunos?" It had been a long time since Koenma had heard that name. And only his father would call him that. And only because of the current situation.

"Code G, human realm." He responded weakly.

* * *

FCL64: I don't know if that was as intense to read as it was to write but let me tell you…

Kiyoshi: When exactly is… never mind. I don't want to give it away.

FCL64: Emerson? Thoreau? Roman poets? Next chapter, probably. That's when Hiei arrives and starts acting stupid.

Kiyoshi: Okay, sounds good. Should it scare me that you knew exactly what I was thinking?

FCL64: Probably. Here's Fate to answer any reviews.

Fate: Well, the author would like to send out thanks to animegrlsteph and anyone who added this story to one of their favorites lists.  
To Kuramasredredrose she gives thanks and all of us down here in the production room agree-it is a very weird story, one that's guaranteed to get weirder. We hope you can handle it.

To Mary S. Jane and chocolateluvr13: the author agrees that Kurama is a bit out of character. chocolateluvr13, he snapped at Hiei because, although he knows Hiei can be rude, arrogant, etc., Kurama has for some reason begun to look at Ella as kind of a younger sister, someone who needs to be looked out for. She now realize that she didn't make this clear enough but she hopes that makes him seem a little less OOC. Mary S. Jane, if this was not the reason for the OOC you informed the author of, please let her know. :)

Now, finally, just to chocolateluvr13: this could get a little confusing, so bear with us. The story is set just after the Tournament of Kings (so after the tournament, before the whole deal where Yusuke has to choose a button). The author may not have made herself clear enough in saying that Kurama is still in high school because he was gone a little longer than a year; he needed an excuse to tell his mother so he evidently was studying abroad and has now returned home to do his second senior year (the math for his age may be off a bit, but can you please forgive that?). The reason he let Ella know about Shuichi is simply that she already knew about him; they go to the same school; the reason he didn't tell her his real name is that Ella is notorious for (as you will find out later) for not thinking about what she says before she says it. In other words, she could very easily start calling him Kurama in front of all their human classmates. That should cover everything; if it doesn't, let us know. And far from being offended, we thank you for the constructive criticism. :D Lastly, in the mind of the author (apologies if you don't agree), the only character that will really be OOC for a good portion of the fic is Koenma. Sorry this reply was so long.


	8. I Will the Earth to Light

Kiyoshi: Well, we're back.

Ella: If we're back… where's the author?

Kiyoshi: Ummm…

Ella: (looks around) Why is the author bound and gagged and tied to the computer chair?

Kiyoshi: Ummm… About that… (turning to readers) She still owns no one other than Gentlom, Ella, Yuri, and Fate. And I'm sorry, but names will probably get a little confusing in this chapter because Koenma will be called Dheunos by his family and Koenma by everyone else, and Fate will be Cītā to her family and Fate to everyone else. And as for the way Kurama acts during part of this chapter, it's a little OOC, but not too bad (please keep in mind he is in a terrible position: caught between keeping a promise for someone he looks on like a little sister and doing what Koenma tells him. Not fun).

* * *

_I Will the Earth to Light…_

"Dheunos, the special defense force can no longer even hope to deal with this situation. You are going to need to get involved. I'm putting you in charge. And now I'm going back to my meeting." Enma's voice boomed. He then turned and walked away from the only one of his children whose location he had known for the last five thousand years.

Koenma put his face to the desk. When he sat back up, he promptly called up Botan. "Find Yusuke and tell him I need to meet with him. I will meet him at his house at four thirty. No make it five, but I want Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara there as well."

"Yes, sir!" She floated off and passed it all on to Yusuke. He looked at her a moment then said, "And how do you propose I find Kurama and Hiei?"

* * *

A group of seven people ran into a man outside the apartment door they were stopping at. He stopped at the same door. He had thick dark hair and, if he were human, looked to be about eighteen. He wore only the most basic clothes, a tunic belted around his waist and sandals. They could not feel his aura. Not really.

They knocked nervously on the door as he hovered. A woman opened the door. She looked to be the same age as the man and her aura had the same feel to it. As if it wasn't really there. He gestured to the door indicating that they should enter first. They did so, not sure what to think of this. They had already been warned that fighting would not be wise. The man entered just after them and hugged the woman, kissing her once on each cheek. "Cītā, it's been too long."

"Yes, Gentlom. I somehow think you knew this day would come. I think you foresaw that Ella would bring us together. Or Hiei."

"Not really." Again that vague smile. "I wondered, but I didn't know. It all depends on how you feel about these the people. Sometimes birth situations I think will catch your interest, you completely pass by."

"Not intentionally." She smiled dazzlingly at him and they hugged once again. "Now what do you propose we do with these?"

"Well, nothing violent, I'm sure. Death isn't really my area of expertise, you know that." His grin turned slightly wicked, revealing a bit of his cynical humor.

She laughed, "Not mine either. Making people here on earth happy is my job. Death is their job. Or his, if we're being honest. But he'll show up soon enough. Would you like to meet Ella?"

He nodded, and the door flew open. On the threshold stood Hiei. No expression on his features. He walked past them, completely ignoring the group standing awkwardly in the front room. He saw Ella, Yuri, and Kurama, and said, "Liar. My words didn't harm her."

"Hiei…" Kurama began. But before he could continue, Yuri was on her feet and had smacked Hiei across the face.

"Damn," Hiei sputtered as blood ran from his lip, "What the hell did I ever do to you, Woman?" He wiped the blood away from his mouth before registering that he had just been slapped by a human woman and not retaliated. Kurama was never going to let him live that one down.

"Ella was lifeless for close to two full days because you are such an—"

"—Thank you, Yuri." Kurama cut her off. "Yes, Hiei you did hurt Ella. She is just one of those people that recovers from emotional harm quicker than most. You could learn a thing or two from her and you might learn to trust people more." The words caught Fate's attention.

"Yes, that's what I thought too."

"And you are?" Hiei responded scornfully.

"Fate. This is my brother Gentlom. I do believe you've met my brother Dheunos, although you probably know him as Koenma. Together we are the Three Fates, Birth, Life and Death."

Hiei walked out.

Kurama waited a moment then said, "Can't say I'm surprised. Yuri humiliated him, then it turns out the Three Fates actually exist and he doesn't want any part of it." He shook his head then looked at his watch. "I should probably be going too. See you two at school tomorrow," he told Yuri and Ella then followed Hiei out the door.

Ella looked at Yuri and said, "Well, that was interesting. You wanna spend the night? You and Gentlom can stay too," she added to Fate.

* * *

Kurama arrived home to find his house not empty, as he had expected. Yusuke was there. And the distinct aura of a certain fire demon waiting in his bedroom. Yusuke said to him, "My house, five o'clock. It's important. Any idea of where I could find Hiei?"

Kurama answered the question with one of his own, "Any idea of what this is about? Or did Botan not tell you?" Kurama had a distinct feeling in his gut that he knew exactly what it was about. And that feeling was making him feel slightly sick.

"Nope, no idea. Hiei?" He asked again. Kurama pointed at the ceiling. "Oh. Okay." He bounded up the stairs, there was a few minutes of intense arguing, then he came back down, a smug grin on his face. He looked at Kurama and said, "His life would be so much easier if he would just tell Yukina they're related. See you in fifteen."

* * *

Kurama arrived at Yusuke's house, with Hiei trailing sulkily behind. They walked in and found not only Botan but Koenma as well. _Dheunos_ Kurama thought, and the feeling of being slightly sick returned. Kuwabara was there as well. Koenma turned and addressed them, "First I should tell you that you will probably be required to work directly with the special defense force."

"Really?" Yusuke asked. "Those guys tried to kill me. How will it help anything to bring them in?"

"You're new mission is going to be more dangerous than any I've sent you on before," he began again, but Yusuke interrupted him.

"How dangerous could it be?" he scoffed. "Who out there could pose much of a threat to me, much less me and Kurama and Hiei working as a team?"

"What does that make me? A lemur tail?" Kuwabara complained.

"There are two people you are going after. Both of them are completely capable of restraining an S-class demon. And I have now idea how they will respond to me sending you all after them. They are both as powerful as me." Koenma looked how Kurama felt. Slightly green. Hiei's eyes narrowed.

"Interesting," Yusuke said after a moment. "Should be fun. Who are they? And how'd they get here?"

"Well… it's not exactly illegal for them to be in the human realm like it is for you," Koenma muttered. A bit louder he added, "They are my brother and sister, the Fates of Birth and Life." Yusuke and Kuwabara froze. Hiei's eyes narrowed even further. Kurama ran out of the room and retched violently into the toilet.

When he returned, still looking slightly green, he answered everyone else's stares, "What if two of us already have a personal stake in this situation? One that won't allow us to participate as part of this team because we have already promised help to… Cītā and Gentlom? Or because he's been dragged into it against his will?"

* * *

Kiyoshi: What kind of ending is that?!

FCL64: Ve kild uff elning you ge' whem you bime an' 'ag ve aufor!

Kiyoshi: (removes gag) Repeat that please.

FCL64: The kind of ending you get when you bind and gag the author! Particularly when she doesn't have writer's block and wrote the last chapter two days ago!

Kiyoshi: (shrugs)

Ella: (to Yuri) Did she really forget she's the author and can do whatever she wants?

Yuri: Apparently.

Kiyoshi: (groaning) Why'd you have to remind her?

FCL64: (evil glint appears in eye) Well, well, well… I did forget that. What happens now, Kiyoshi?

Yuri: We answer reviews? Yes let's do that Ella (drags Ella away from the author and Kiyoshi)

Ella: The author finds that...let me see... animegrlsteph and... kuramasredredrose are the viewers she wants to thank right now. she wants me to tell kuramasredredrose that... uhh... it's a good thing you can handle strange because it's going to get very strange... Yuri, what does she mean by put emphasis on 'very'? Never mind... that's all...


	9. Open Your Eyes With Me

Kiyoshi: Really? Already? That was quick. You wrote the last chapter yesterday.

FCL64: Any complaints need to be turned into the complaint box at the end of the hall. They will then be processed and turned over to the author in a reasonable amount of time.

Kiyoshi: What are you talking about?

FCL64: I'm not really sure. Here's the chapter. Gentlom, Cītā/Fate, Ella, Yuri are mine, no one else. Here you go! And Kiyoshi… what we discussed, the authors, will definitely come in this chapter.

* * *

_Open Your Eyes With Me…_

Koenma stared at Kurama a moment and then said, "What?"

Kurama's face had paled, although that was better than the green it had been before. "Two of us—that is to say, Hiei and I—already have a personal stake in this. Hiei was dragged into it, I made the decision myself. Fate's—Cītā's—reason for being in the human realm is a friend of mine. In this case, I have no choice but to step out. I'm sorry, but I already gave my word." And with that, he walked out of the Urameshi household, a smirking Hiei following close behind.

Once outside Hiei muttered, "I'm not personally involved, but I'm not going to tell him that."

Kurama looked at him rather darkly and said, "You may not be personally involved _now_, but you will be. And I'd wager that you will be soon." Having said this, he returned home to brood on how completely his life had gotten out of his control, due largely in part to one person.

Back in Yusuke's house Koenma looked shocked. And horrified. If Kurama and Hiei were already involved, on his sister and brother's side… that left only one option. He would need to get personally involved, working with the special defense force, Yusuke and Kuwabara.

But that also meant he would most likely have direct contact with both of his siblings.

* * *

That person had fallen asleep on Ella's living room floor. Her brother lay next to her. Neither of them seemed to be truly asleep, as if they were watching the world, but not interfering. Ella and Yuri were talking about everything that had happened in Ella's bedroom.

"So Fate wants me and Hiei together?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

"That's all you have to say? Okay? Someone else wants to pull strings in your life, not giving you a choice in the matter, and you're okay with that?"

Ella nodded. "It's Fate. Somehow, I can't bring myself to be mad at her for it. Particularly when I already feel that it might be the Life Source's plan for Hiei and I to be together. I couldn't figure out why his actions hurt me so much… but maybe it's because what Fate is doing is merely what the Life Source wants. Whether she knows it or not."

"Good Lord, Ella. You're way too mature for a high schooler. You and Shuichi both."

"Demons remember? Shuichi's not his real name, you said. Which means he has another identity he's used longer than that, probably longer than I've been alive. And you know I've been around almost a hundred and seventy years, Yuri."

"Okay, stop talking. This is getting way too weird for me."

* * *

The next morning they woke up to find Gentlom sitting in the living room thinking. Fate was no where in sight. "What's going on?" Yuri asked.

"Nothing. Just doing my job." From the sleeve of his tunic he let fall what appeared to be a sea green orb. It flickered slightly, and wasn't very strong. But he knew it would be someday. "Trying to find the best family in which to place this soul. It has a particularly difficult spirit. Female, I'm certain. Human of course. But in what situation will she thrive in?" He was speaking to himself now.

"Where did Fate go?" Yuri asked, half expecting him not to answer.

"Out," was his vague answer. Yuri was beginning to see that each of these two fates had a distinct… personality. Gentlom favored the vague, unclear side of things. Fate revealed everything however she saw fit, capable of being vague or not. It almost made her wonder what Koenma was like. But not quite. She didn't think she could take a third fate and still retain her sanity.

* * *

Fate had located Hiei fairly easily and had begun to follow him. He was not too pleased with this. "Why the hell are you following me?" he finally snapped at her, "Haven't you anything better to do? Like make two fools fall in love or some such nonsense?"

"Ah, but Hiei," she responded, "I have one intelligent person, and I have already chosen the fool she is to fall in love with."

"Then why don't you go bother _him_?" Hiei suggested, none too politely.

"I am. Hiei," she continued before Hiei could respond to being called a fool and said, "I have found that when one is alone, one is more inclined to do stupid, selfish things. They feel they won't hurt anyone if they die, so who cares if they get themselves killed? Alone is not a good way to live."

"I like being alone. I am bound to no one. I fear no one. I will do something stupid to protect no one."

"You love no one."

"Exactly. I don't feel the need to sacrifice life and limb for anyone else's well-being. I will never join those countless fools who threw their lives away because they thought someone else was more important than themselves." Both of them were pointedly avoiding the Yukina side of things.

"Hiei, open your eyes. As Henry David Thoreau once said, _It is never too late to give up your prejudices_. Particularly in this, Hiei. Love is better found late than never at all."

"What if I feel I don't need it?"

"Everyone needs love, Hiei. All beings, from the smallest mouse to the cruelest demons. Different kinds of love, yes. And the demons are cruel simply because they do not know what they need. Emerson said, _The only way to have a friend is to be one_. Everyone needs someone, Hiei. Emerson also told us, _Make yourself necessary to someone_. I suggest you follow his advice."

"What do I care for the words of some person, when they'll disappear soon enough anyway?"

"I wonder if they'll disappear, when Fate will remember. And when people still remember them after two hundred and thirty years. And if that is not enough time, try words that have survived two millennia: _omnia tempus habent et suīs spatiīs trānseunt ūniversa sub caelō. tempus nāscendī et tempus moriendī. tempus bellī et tempus pācis. tempus odiī et tempus dīlectiōnis._ Now, Hiei, now is _tempus dīlectiōnis_." And she walked away, knowing that Hiei cared enough about this that he would eventually ask someone what her words meant. Either that or he already knew.

* * *

Sure enough, later that night, he appeared in Kurama's window and recited the words. Kurama tilted his head sideways and said, "_To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven… a time to be born and a time to die… a time for war and a time for peace… a time for hate and…a time for love._"

* * *

Kiyoshi: An interesting place to end, but I'll take it.

FCL64: You better, cause I'm not going to rewrite it. Now, on to any reviews!  
Kuramasredredrose: sorry he didn't get angry; he's just in shock. (next chapter he starts acting irrational though :) )  
animegrlsteph: yeah, you'd think he'd be mad but he's far to surprised. I know that feeling...


	10. See Paradise With Me

Kiyoshi: After the last few chapters being written so quickly, it seems like it's been forever since you last wrote a chapter.

FCL64: Yeah… well, the readers know who I own… so here's the chapter, I guess…

Kiyoshi: You guess? You're the author! Without you our entire universe will spontaneously combust! Or spontaneously hydrate! Or collapse in a series of fiery implosions!

FCL64: And you accuse _me_ of being overdramatic.

Kiyoshi: That's more like it. You may now proceed to write the chapter.

FCL64: Great. I'm thrilled to know that chapter ten of my story has the blessing of the person in my head.

Kiyoshi: Any time. And a heads up: we know Koenma is out of character. Eventually it will make more sense but not in this chapter, so please don't flame us for it.

* * *

_See Paradise With Me…_

"Koenma, sir?" The voice sounded sure of itself, but was hiding its uncertainty. "We received a message telling us that you are now in charge of this case. We were also kicked out of the apartment of the demon who Cītā and Gentlom are staying with. We couldn't really force our hand to stay, without revealing our identities to her human best friend; there was really nothing we could do." The captain of the special defense knew that they had failed their task enormously.

"Let me get this straight. _Cītā_ is staying with a _demon_ whose best friend is _human_. On top of that, I have just discovered that Kurama and Hiei are already involved in this case. But that they will not be working with us." He sighed. This case was already starting to wear on him, and he hadn't yet been in charge of it for a full twenty four hours.

"Correct. Although I would say Hiei's involvement is limited at this point. Kurama is friends with the demon girl. Her name is Ella. I haven't had much time to look into her background, but so far I've found nothing."

Koenma nodded. "I'll have Botan look into it. As for now, I'm assuming Ella is the reason Cītā is in the human world. But that leaves the question of what her aim is…" Koenma had just been given an answer to one major question, only to be left with even more questions. He couldn't say it was surprising, considering his sister's personality.

"About that…"

Koenma looked up. "What about that?" His words were slightly suspicious.

"Well, Hiei's limited involvement has been forced on him. And it probably won't stay _limited_."

"She has _got_ to be kidding. _Hiei_?"

* * *

"Well, sister?"

"I spoke with Hiei. Rather more directly than I ever intended, I'm afraid. But I think I'll let well enough alone for two weeks or so. How was you're day?"

"Hmmm… same as usual I suppose."

"Wait," Yuri said, "Why are you stepping out for two weeks? That makes no sense."

"Hiei will dwell on my words. And he'll also be allowed to think he's won. I will then return… Am I correct in saying that Ella is less fundamentally opposed to falling in love than Hiei is?"

Yuri glanced at her friend and nodded. "She's probably you're favorite person in the world. She always just let's the chips fall where they may."

"Those people from the other day are coming back. And some new people. One has the same aura as you two," Ella said suddenly. Gentlom looked up and Fate raised her eyebrows.

"This came sooner than I expected," Fate muttered.

Almost immediately the door to Ella's apartment was knocked down and ten people crowded in. One wielded a golden sword, pointing directly at Gentlom who was sitting on the floor, an almost-white orb in his hand. Another's fist was blazing one finger pointed directly at Fate. The seven from the day before divided themselves between the two deities, lending support to both of the men on the offensive. Then there was Koenma. He walked in and simply stared.

Then Fate said, "Lower your weapons, boys. I have no wish to harm you. Harming humans saddens me… harming demons saddens me." With her last words she looked significantly at Koenma.

The boy in front of her then said, "You wouldn't be saying that if I were to nail you with an aura blast at point blank range."

Koenma looked alarmed and said, "No violence, Yusuke! I thought we went over this?"

Fate waved him away and said, "I know perfectly well who you are, Yusuke. And I also know you won't shoot."

Koenma sputtered, "He's unpredictable. His unpredictability is what brought him to me in the first place."

Fate grinned. "Was it his unpredictability or your lack of ability to read humans that brought him to you? Keep in mind, Dheunos, that reading people _in life_ is my job."

"Not anymore. You gave that up when you left. You and Gentlom both."

"This soul would suggest differently," the man sitting on the floor said. The luminescent, pale purple spirit suddenly fled the room. "He has now joined the ranks of the living. Not able to walk and talk or live on his own yet… but he has a body."

Fate looked decisively at Koenma. "Can you do that? No. Can you interfere directly in the human world, other than through someone who has a sixth sense or some other form of spiritual fortitude? I thought not."

Yuri watched as the brown-haired youth before them bolstered himself in the face of such obvious denial of his claims. Then Koenma stated in a voice that seemed to offer no room for argument, "I hereby place both you, Cītā, and you, Gentlom, under arrest."

"The crime?"

"Treason. You deliberately disobeyed father's orders and left."

Fate's eyes narrowed but she didn't look worried. "Doing my job, the way I have for almost all eternity, is now considered treason? Oh, how the underworld has fallen. I gave up naught when I left. The only thing I did when I left was refuse to bow to an unfair power. I also hope you realize that the only reason Gentlom and I have not tried to displace Father before now is that it would upset you. The balance of power between the three of us is what keeps the three realms running smoothly. But you have overstepped your bounds, causing that balance of power to tip precariously."

Koenma looked ready to respond—perhaps violently—but Ella interrupted. In a stunned voice she said, "You broke my door."

* * *

_5071 years previously (3061 b.c.)…_

"_Gentlom, Cītā," a voice thundered. "I need a word."_

_They walked quietly into the room where the man with the powerful voice waited. The woman seemed to float and the man seemed preoccupied by the fiery orb in his palm, "Yes, Father?" the woman asked._

"_It has come to my attention that you two have been working hand in hand with demons."_

"_Not precisely…" Gentlom muttered, not bothering to look up._

"_What?" their father roared._

_Cītā quickly said, "Father, you know Gentlom. He only meant that the souls he works with haven't yet a physical form. Therefore, no hands. But other than that, you're statement is true. Is there a problem?"_

"_Yes. Demons grow in number and power each day. There are already many out there which cannot be controlled by any but the royal family. It is a necessity that Gentlom stop producing these souls."_

"_Hmmm… could be difficult…not all souls would be cooperative with a human body… disaster could ensue…" the younger of the two men muttered, almost to himself._

"_That does not matter. The demons must be wiped from the face of the earth. From the demon plane. They should not exist!"_

"_You fear them Father." The woman's words were blunt, and the king was not used to hearing the truth laid out so plainly. Before he could respond she continued, "It would be wrong for Gentlom to stop creating souls destined for demon bodies. And what has this to do with me, anyway, other than as a mediator?"_

"_The demons are becoming violent. I believe it is time for you to stop aiding them."_

"_They are violent, so you want me to bring a different form of violence upon them. Violence only begets more violence, Father. It may be of a different nature, but helping them find happiness, or punishing them for their wrongdoings is another form of love. I am merely guiding them to a happier state of mind. I work to help them find a small piece of paradise in the time before their deaths. But if I weren't there, they might not ever find it, and follow instead a path of destruction."_

"_They already follow it, even with you here."_

"_Not everyone listens to their heart, Father. It takes some longer than others to realize the right choices, the sound of Cītā at their ear." All three of the people in the room heard the unspoken words. King Enma, lord of the underworld, was on of those people. They all jumped when the door shut._

"_Dheunos, what think you of demons?" Cītā asked._

"_Eradication is the best solution." The response came without hesitation._

_Cītā glared. "Eradication? You may be Death but does that mean you believe they don't deserve a chance at Life?"_

"_No; I believe they are growing stronger. An organized rebellion could overthrow us. We could all be killed."_

"_So they must all die, so we four may live? Is that just?"_

_Dheunos blinked dark brown eyes once and replied, "The world isn't just, Cītā."_

"_That's because you and Father make it so damn difficult for me to do my job."_

"_Enough!" Enma boomed. "Gentlom, the souls are to stop being created. Cītā, you are to restrict your aid to humans and those beings in Reikai."_

"_If you think you can stop us." Cītā replied once then louder, "If you really think you are capable of stopping us, I suggest you try."_

_Gentlom followed his angry sister from the room, saying, "I truly wonder what she has planned…"_

_That night they fled the premises, disappearing into the more distant reaches of Reikai, where their strange aura melted into that of the even stranger landscape._

* * *

Ella's words registered with Yusuke and he couldn't control himself. He fell over laughing; the glowing orb of aura that had surrounded his hand disappeared; he clutched his sides, trying to breathe. He then gasped, "A perfectly serious conversation and all she has to say on the matter is that we broke her door."

Koenma glared at Yusuke and said to Fate, "I must insist that you return with me to Reikai for trial."

"Who will do my job?" Fate asked with mock concern. "Who will perform Gentlom's tasks?"

"Father and I will cover them," Koenma replied swiftly.

"Will you, now? Have you acquired some ability I do not know of in the past five thousand years, Dheunos? One that allows you and Father to do work that previously only Gentlom and I could perform? Do you not recall that without us mayhem will cover the earth? Is it fair to condemn the living to a life of pain and insanity because Death feels Birth and Life have overstepped their bounds? I think not."

"The world isn't just, Cītā."

"That is because you insist on making it that way. Gentlom and I are going now. But not with you. And you shan't try to follow us, or stop us."

"No. Don't move. Gentlom will stop creating souls. You will stop interfering in the living realms."

Fate looked down at her hands momentarily. Glanced at the fiery orange spirit glowing in Gentlom's hand. "If you think you can stop us," she said to herself. To Koenma she said, "If you really think you are capable of stopping us, I suggest you try."

Koenma froze and Fate pulled Gentlom to his feet. The soul fled the room, taking refuge in the body Gentlom had assigned it. As she stepped over the threshold she threw a few words over her shoulder. "And if you suggest I stop interfering in the living realms, I suggest you do the same. More so, as doing so is my right as the Fate of Life. But might I remind you that, no matter it's preoccupation with death, even Reikai is a living realm?"

* * *

Kiyoshi: This is definitely turning into more of a Fate-Koenma-Gentlom triangle story than it was intended to be. There really isn't as much Hiei-Ella stuff going on as I would have predicted for the tenth chapter.

FCL64: I know. But, boy, this story has a long way to go. Aye aye aye.

Kiyoshi: Whatever. Who's going to answer reviews?

FCL64: You.

Kiyoshi: Me, okay—wait, what?

FCL64: I like putting you on the spot and seeing what random nonsense you spout out when under pressure. Okay, go. The readers are waiting.

Kiyoshi: Well... animegrlsteph: old sayings... yes glad you liked them.  
Kuramasredredrose: yes we... I mean the author, not me, loves irrationality as well (if you haven't noticed).  
heve-chan: thanks for the review and I'm glad I managed to catch (and keep) your interest! The story is set after the Tournament of Kings but before the last bit with the buttons, if that clears anything up.  
Dyani91: I would like you to know that I appreciate the force with which you demand more. Your review is the only thing that convinced me not to be lazy and to update (that takes skill and you should be congratulated, considering how lazy I actually am). In other words, you are the only reason this chapter is currenlty up. :)


	11. Awake and Arise With Me

Kiyoshi: About time.

FCL64: Hmm?

Kiyoshi: Now that you're actually posting this story, you need to write the chapters more often so that you don't get behind.

FCL64: Whatever. Everyone knows who I own, and if they don't, they haven't been paying attention.

Kiyoshi: Oh, that's nice. Here's the chapter.

* * *

_Awake and Arise With Me…_

"Gentlom, do you think leaving like that was a bit rash?" It had only been a few minutes since they had left and Fate was already having misgivings. Perhaps she should have stayed and just refused to go with him. It's not like he could have forced her.

"Perhaps." As usual, Gentlom's answer was uncertain, unclear, and unhelpful.

"Then I'm going back. Are you coming with me?"

"I suppose… it really makes no difference to me… I could be in prison and I could still do my job… not like you…"

"Not if there were talismans around your chamber."

He looked away from the soul hovering in his hand. It took a lot for him to do that. It took even more to give him the fiery certainty in his glare now and the defiance in his voice, "Don't say that. Don't even think it. If he thinks for even a _moment_ that he can get away with that… I think your little 'balance of power' would tip more than it is already. Because I would have to kill him."

Fate grinned. "So we're in agreement that Dheunos has become a bit arrogant and needs to be taken down a few notches?" Gentlom nodded decisively and they headed back to Ella's house.

* * *

When they arrived, Koenma and all the others were still there. "Back so soon?" Yusuke cracked when they entered.

"We decided that running was just another way of admitting that Dheunos alone held more power than both of us combined. This is where I am needed and this is where Gentlom has decided to be. End of story."

Koenma stepped up. "You are aware that by returning you are turning yourselves in, and by doing so, pleading guilty to the charge of treason?"

"Still stuck on treason, are you?" Fate snapped, finally beginning to get angry with her brother. "Have you even bothered to tell your employees _why_ Gentlom and I walked out so many years ago? Or did you decide it was irrelevant? If I'm not very much mistaken, that boy is of demon decent." As she said it, she pointed a finger with a glistening nail at Yusuke.

"I didn't tell them because it _is_ irrelevant." Koenma snapped right back.

Then something strange began to happen. In her anger, instead of an iridescent whitish color, her hair changed quickly from a deep blood red to charcoal black and back again. Repeatedly. Her nails did as well.

Gentlom raised his eyebrows. He had not often seen his sister in a rage such as this. Normally she just floated around, above it all, above all emotion. And Koenma recognized the danger as well. But now that he had invoked her anger, there was nothing he could do to stop it. "_Irrelevant_? How the _hell_ is it irrelevant if three of your four most important employees are _demons_ themselves? Did it _never_ occur to you that you are building them up in terms of power? That's a freaking moronic idea! It is completely counterproductive to your overall plan!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Lady?" Yusuke asked. "Sure, I'm a demon. So what?"

"_So what_?" Fate was nearly screaming by this point. "So _he_," she pointed a gleaming red-black nail at Koenma, "never told you about his two siblings. _He_ never told you that we no longer get along. _He_ never told you that the rift in our family was caused by his and my father's desire to _completely eradicate_ all of demon-kind!"

The silence in the room was so complete that everyone could here the dripping of Ella's bathroom sink down the hall. Koenma was stunned. He had never realized how strongly Fate felt about this. Nor had he _ever_ thought she would tell his employees about it in such an impassioned manner.

Yusuke looked at him. Koenma had known the detective long enough to realize that if he was like any normal person, he would feel personally betrayed right about now. But Yusuke simply asked, "Is this true?"

Koenma sighed. "Yes, Yusuke. It's true."

* * *

Hiei had slept in Kurama's room the night before, much to Kurama's displeasure. Kurama didn't particularly care, but for Hiei's incessant muttering about how "it was none of the woman's business how he lived his life" and that he could "make his own decisions" and that they "sure as hell wouldn't involve that girl."

Kurama had just rolled his eyes and told Hiei to shut up because he had school the next day. "School," he had added, "In which I share two classes with Ella." Hiei simply glared.

He woke this morning at around five, which was not abnormal, to find Kurama already gone. Not that he cared. But he had nothing better to do than annoy the rather touchy fox demon so he got up and began wandering about the city. By seven o'clock that morning he had stopped at all his favorite haunts, but he still felt restless. So he ran. He sprinted for a solid two and a half hours, dodging cars and pedestrians. And when he finally began to feel slightly winded, he slowed to a jog. Well, it was still faster than any human could go, but a jog for Hiei nonetheless. Then a walk. Then he stopped altogether.

Glancing around, he found he was inside the school grounds of Meio High. What had brought him here, he couldn't remember. At any rate he decided to find Kurama, and see how he could embarrass or annoy the fox demon among his human peers. Well, _mostly_ human peers, but that thought didn't cross Hiei's mind.

He found Kurama in his AP Psych II class. The fact that it was on the third floor didn't really make a difference. He hovered outside the window, waiting for someone to notice him. Sure enough, Kurama turned almost immediately to the window, having sensed his presence. The teacher turned around and Kurama had the opportunity to open the window and say, "What the hell are you doing here, Hiei?"

"Annoying you." The answer came as the fire demon slipped unnoticed through the window and took the seat behind Kurama. Kurama closed the window knowing that this little scenario could not end well.

About four minutes later Hiei said, not bothering to keep his voice down, "Damn this is boring. How the hell do you sit through this crap all day, every day when you don't have to?" By now Hiei had his feet propped up on the desk and was reclining in the chair so that only two legs touched the floor.

Everyone turned to stare first at Hiei, then at Kurama, who the newcomer was obviously talking to. Then a voice said, "Hiei!" At this every head snapped around, Kurama's and Hiei's included. There sat Ella, black and silver hair glittering in the incandescent lights.

"Do you know this… person, Ella?" the teacher asked.

"Kind of. I've only talked to him a couple of times… But Shuichi knows him."

Kurama's face turned very slightly pink. He had never quite been able to get the blushing thing down. Any other emotion he could pretend. Embarrassment, however, just wasn't in his nature. But, honestly, that girl had _no_ filter.

"Really." The teacher said. "Tell us, Shuichi, who is your charming guest?"

"This is Hiei. He's an exchange student. He's been given permission by the school to come to all my classes to see how he likes this school before deciding if he wants to go here or somewhere else."

"I see…" the teacher said the words with extreme disapproval then went back to his teaching.

Kurama turned around to glare at Hiei. But his eyes didn't meet the smug grin he had been expecting. It appeared that—whether he knew it or not—Hiei was waking up to Fate's influence. Because his gaze was still fixed unblinkingly on Ella.

* * *

FCL64: That's almost creeperish.

Kiyoshi: I can't believe you would call your beloved Hiei a creeper.

FCL64: I said _almost_.

Kiyoshi: Whatever. Before she makes me answer reviews again, here's Hiei to answer them.

Hiei: No.

FCL64: Yes.

Hiei: No. (walks out)

FCL64: Kurama, then. Kurama, would you be so kind as to answer the reviews?

Kurama: I suppose…  
animegrlsteph: The author is glad you enjoy Cītā's attitude towards Koenma-especially considering it stays that way for basically the entire story.  
Kuramasredredrose: yes, he can die (at least in this story, if not in the actual series). The author is glad you are so enthusiastic about this story. :)


	12. I Am the Dawn, I'm the New Day Begun

FCL64: I would like to apologize for my portrayal of Koenma. That's just kind of how it came about. If you have a problem with it, sorry, it wasn't intentional.

Kiyoshi: Why are you writing this chapter?

FCL64: What do you mean?

Kiyoshi: You have no idea what's going to happen next.

FCL64: Oh don't I? Just watch…

* * *

_I Am the Dawn, I'm the New Day Begun…_

Fate remained bewildered by Yusuke's response to Koenma admitting he had intended to eradicate demons, wipe them from existence, extinguish them.

He hadn't cared. His response had been, "Whatever. Good luck with that."

Fate had to admit he had a point. Even as the Fate of Death, Dheunos couldn't very well compete with the Fates of Birth and Life working together in opposition of his aims. And, no matter what she had said to Dheunos, Yusuke had always been harder to read than most people. Maybe not as unpredictable as Kurama, but pretty close. "How in the world does he manage to find all the people most likely to do something unpredictable? Yusuke, Kurama, Kuwabara… Okay, Hiei, not so much, but all the same. Replace Hiei with Ella and he'd have the most illogical set of people alive." She muttered to herself.

Gentlom answered, "Maybe their unpredictability lends itself well to his plans… or maybe it is simply that unpredictability leads the individuals to him… so sad…" he muttered the last in reference to the two souls he now held in his palm. "I'm sorry…" he whispered to them as he wrenched them apart. They still pulled toward one another. They truly didn't want to be separated, as if they would go out if they couldn't get back to the other. They both had the same greenish tint. "Go," he whispered, "You'll find each other one day… you won't rest until you do… and if you deny it, Cītā will probably intervene…"

"What?" Fate said, startled to hear her name. "Why are you so certain I will help them?"

"It's not often that souls entwined such as those two can be placed in proximity to each other on earth… Keiko and Yusuke were a rare pair… These were even more complicated in that one was demon, the other human…"

"Gentlom, could you please just make your point?"

"What? Oh yes. Their souls have somehow formed a bond while they were being created. Sometimes that means twins… but twins often vary in color… those two, Keiko and Yusuke… they have something else. I don't know how to explain it…"

"Are you trying to say they have something _more_ than most people? A stronger bond? And that not all people have this?"

"Yes… well, I think most people have it… it's just the likelihood of those souls possessing a body at the same time is very slim, given the vast amount of time… That's why intertwined souls such as those are both sad, and very happy…"

"And what do I have to do with that?"

"Did you hear what Ella said the other night?" Gentlom asked mildly. "She suggested that the Life Source, as she calls us, is simply working through you. Is it not possible that that is the case with me and Dheunos as well? That the Life Source works the way you do, but only among the three of us? Do you ever feel as if you are being led to one particular person? Or drawn to lead two people together? Perhaps that's simply the Life Source working through you. After all, do you know where the power to manipulate the world as you see fit comes from? I don't know where exactly the energy to create these souls comes from. I have to concentrate my energy, but these energies don't take my energy."

"So there is something bigger out there…"

"Without a doubt."

"And the strange desire I feel to pull Hiei and Ella together, into more than just a platonic relationship… that could be because of a power greater than my own? Or that their souls… Do you remember their souls, Gentlom?"

"Hmmm… yes. Very strange. I've never seen anything like it, before or since… It wasn't just two souls tangled together. That is the first time I have seen three souls all together. Two were a dark blue shade, with erratic streaks of purple and green… the last was a much lighter blue, with pink mixed in… two were female and the last was male. The male was fighting desperately, more viciously than anything I've ever felt, to cling to both of the others… It hurt me to rip him away from the dark blue girl… I _felt_ his pain, Cītā, I could _feel_ it, and he hadn't received a body yet," Gentlom's eyes pleaded with his sister to understand, "Souls are rarely that strong before they're born. Then I had to separate him and the other girl; that was just as difficult and it broke something in the soul that became Hiei. Then rage. Not that he remembers consciously; but his soul remembers. Attached so fervently to both Ella and Yukina… he had to be separated, or two souls would be placed in one person, which is catastrophic. So even though his soul was close to Yukina's at birth, the separation killed something in him. He was broken and enraged before he was born… I had no choice…" Fate's eyes were wide as she comforted her brother. It hurt her to see her brother in such pain.

But her path was now evident. Hiei and Ella _were_ the pair she'd envisioned… but Hiei's soul had been hardened almost to a point where he couldn't recognize the one he had fought so hard to keep a hold of, even before he possessed a body.

* * *

Kurama couldn't understand what was happening. Hiei _did_ follow him to all his classes. Sleeping through English and history, and watching Ella out of the corner of his eye in math.

Kurama knew one thing: Fate had set something off and, now that it was started, there was no stopping it.

Whether it was dawn, a new day, light, or the end of the world remained to be seen.

* * *

Kiyoshi: Why so much cheese?

FCL64: Have we not clearly established that the only thing I'm in control of is word choice? I have no control over the direction of the story.

Kiyoshi: yeah, yeah, yeah. Sorry Gentlom talked so much… very uncharacteristic, we know.

FCL64: Yep. Now on to reviews!

Kiyoshi: You're actually going to answer the reviews yourself?

FCL64: Yes… it's been a while; let's see if I remember how…

Kiyoshi: Wow.

FCL64: Well... First, several people seem to have misunderstood me. Hiei did not actually enroll as an exchange student. Kurama just made that up, so that his life would be simpler, since he realized Hiei was going to follow him around.  
The Fire Fox of the Red Moon: I'm glad you enjoy this story so much. But I also feel like you're giving me too much credit. Like I've told my muse, Kiyoshi, or whatever he is: I honestly have no control over where the story goes. The story description? Yeah, that's basically what I have when I start writing. Thanks so much for the positive feedback!  
Kit-Kat-Kitsune: I agree. Koenma can get a bit arrogant (particularly in this story; I've been playing up the arrogance in this story, to make it fit). Thanks for the review.  
heve-chan: yes it is centered more around Fate than Ella. I noticed that, too. Ah, well. The story was never really about Ella; it was supposed to be about Hiei (it's still concentrating on Fate more than Hiei but...) And, I like Gentlom better than Fate to. ;) Glad someone agrees with me.  
animegrlsteph: well, since he's really just being a stalker... he might do that.  
babygirl1998: Thanks for being so enthusiastic! Here's your update.


	13. I Bring You the Morning, I Bring You the

FCL64: Well, well, well… what an interesting scenario.

Kiyoshi: What are you talking about?

FCL64: No idea. Here's the next installment of FATE.

* * *

_I Bring You the Morning, I Bring You the Sun…_

"Hiei came to my school today."

"What?" Fate said, surprised.

"He was stalking Shuichi."

"Oh." Fate immediately became less interested.

For no apparent reason, Ella asked, "Why do I get the feeling I've heard Hiei's name before? And what is Shuichi's real name?"

Fate knew how scatter-brained Ella could be, but the fact that the girl could not remember the name of a blood-thirsty demon notorious in Makai worried her a bit. "Hiei developed quite a reputation in Makai for being violent and ruthless before he joined Yusuke. Shuichi's real name is… actually, that's his business. If you want to know, you should ask him." Throughout all this, Ella's stare remained completely blank.

Then she said, "Violent and ruthless? I didn't get that feeling at all. And that's definitely not where I'm getting his name from… it's weird… it's not a memory, so much, as it is a feeling…"

Fate said nothing. Gentlom looked at the girl and asked, "If I were to give you a list of names, would you be able to choose the one with the most significance?"

"Huh?"

"Let's try it." He scribbled a long list of names, names from all across the globe, all across the three realms. After fifteen minutes, he handed it to her. "Do any of these names carry a special significance in your mind?"

She looked at the list. Then she indicated four names. Yuri, her best friend. Kazuki, the friend she'd traveled with for almost a century. Kaede, the gypsy girl. Ayaka, her mother. Gentlom nodded reaching for the list, but Ella held onto it. "There's another," she muttered. "It doesn't have any significant meaning; I never knew anyone by that name, but my eyes were continually drawn to it." She pointed to a fifth and final name.

Yukina.

Gentlom looked at Fate. "Does that tell you anything?"

* * *

"Are you going to stalk me tomorrow, too?" Kurama asked angrily.

"Don't know yet."

"Well you damn well better figure it out before school starts tomorrow, because I am not putting up with that standing on the window sill crap again." Kurama was not in a good mood.

Hiei's mood was… undetermined. "Whatever."

"And if you do follow me tomorrow you need to do a hell of a lot better job covering up your staring at Ella. Because it's completely obvious," Kurama snapped. He didn't really know why he was so mad at Hiei, but he was. Maybe it was just that Hiei was being so stupid. Everyone but him could see that he was slowly but surely falling for Ella. Why couldn't he just admit it and save them all the time and trouble?

"You've got to be kidding me," Hiei muttered.

"No," Kurama snapped. Then he realized Hiei wasn't talking to him. Fate was gliding toward them, with a calm expression covering her beautiful, pale face.

"Well, Hiei, Kurama. Fancy meeting you here," she said. "How do you do?"

"Like you didn't know exactly where to find us," Hiei muttered darkly, and Kurama chuckled, his mood suddenly improved by the appearance of someone who annoyed Hiei as much as Hiei had been annoying him.

"So, how do you feel about Ella nowadays, Hiei?"

"It's been four days since you asked me that," Hiei was not happy. "And just so you know, now is _not_ a time for love."

"And why not?"

"I do not need love. I have never needed love. I will never need love."

"_If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten_. You don't need to pretend you're happy with what you've always gotten, Hiei. Everyone here knows better."

Hiei simply glared and Fate took the opportunity to continue her lecture, "Robert Frost once said _poetry should begin in delight and end in wisdom_. Life is poetry, Hiei. You should be happy in the beginning, then learn from experiences that make you unhappy. I know you didn't have the privilege of a happy childhood, but that should make you more eager to have someone there. If you open your heart it'll be like seeing the sun for the first time."

"I've been betrayed by everyone I've ever been close to," Hiei muttered.

"Like who? Like the thieves who named you 'flying shadow?' Like the mother who died the day you were born? Like your mother's best friend who asked you to kill her first whenever you came back to the glacial country? Who has betrayed you, Hiei? Expect nothing more from thieves; your mother died, she didn't betray; Hina didn't want to do what was required of her. So who have you been close to who has betrayed you? Has Yukina betrayed you? Has Ella betrayed you?"

"Yes, they both have," Hiei said without thinking, then having no idea what had possessed him to say that.

Kurama looked at Hiei without even attempting to hide his disgust. "You are unbelievable. How could you…" He stopped seeing the content look on Fate's face. Then, "Is that what you _wanted_ to hear?"

"Yes… I think so."

"But… why?"

"It shows that somewhere deep inside him, he knows why he's afraid to be close to anyone. And while a similar experience made Ella completely open to everything… Hiei's emotions were stronger, and he had to endure it twice… and it broke something inside him. At least a part of him acknowledges this pain."

"What pain?" Hiei had regained the use of his voice.

Fate pursed her lips and nodded, "Even if he won't admit it to himself, much less anyone else. But, for future reference, it was Gentlom, not Ella and Yukina. And he didn't want to do it. It still causes him grief today."

"You've totally lost me," Kurama said.

"Don't sound so surprised. I've been around since the beginning of time; compared to that, a thousand years really isn't that long." She smiled. "Now before I go, a couple last bits of _wisdom_ for you, Hiei. Karl A. Menninger told the world _Love cures. It cures those who give it and it cures those who receive it_. And Sam Keen said _To love is to return to a home we never left, to remember who we are_. So Hiei, as Menninger also said, _Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often give, too rarely taken_. Here's your prescription. I suggest you take it, be cured, and remember." Fate smiled. Then she simply walked away. That quote-a-million-different-people-then-walk-away-without-looking-back business was starting to get on Hiei's nerves.

But for some reason Kurama felt there was a deeper meaning to Fate's words than they initially revealed. Cures, remembering, medicine… all true… but she meant something more, something that applied specifically to Hiei. But what her meaning was, Kurama hadn't a clue.

* * *

Kiyoshi: Right then.

FCL64: And that's supposed to mean?

Kiyoshi: Nothing more than I didn't think you had any idea what you were going to write then you go and write nearly three pages, quotes embedded quite nicely if the person in your head is aloud to voice that opinion.

FCL64: Of course he is. But when he does, it means he's ready to answer the reviews! Haha! The stage is yours!

Kiyoshi: I hate you.  
heve-chan: yes... as we wrote this we felt the same way, but no matter how she tried the author couldn't seem to get it to concentrate the way she wanted it to...

FCL64: Shut up.

Kiyoshi: If you're going to interupt, you answer the reviews.  
animegrlsteph: to be entirely honest... we have no idea what comment you're referring to... oops...  
babygirl1998: we are very happy you enjoyed it; we were a little worried the connected soul thing was too much and wouldn't be received well. as for writing yuyu hakusho... she wishes. and we will check out your story.  
Kuramasredredrose: glad you enjoyed it so much! we were honestly wondering if they connected soul thing would be too much. we were very worried. so much for that. i guess we need to stop worrying about where the story takes us and just let it go where it will. :)


	14. I Hold Back the Night and I Open the

Kiyoshi: Wow. It's been a long time.

FCL64: Yep. But they (hopefully) don't know that; because I just posted chapter seven. That's seven chapters ago!

Kiyoshi: You make no sense.

FCL64: Wild onions encourage cannibalism.

Kiyoshi: What?

FCL64: Just proving your point.

Kiyoshi: Please keep in mind that Hiei has not actually enrolled; it's just that no one is willing to risk asking him to leave, because Hiei has a tendency to… get violent, and they can somehow sense that. So he is really just hanging out. Just go with it; it's necessary for the story to continue.

* * *

_I Hold Back the Night and I Open the Skies…_

"Gentlom, I can't get it out of my head." Fate was pacing back and forth, threatening to wear holes in Ella's already thin carpet.

"Mmm… What's that?" Gentlom obviously wasn't paying much attention to her, but Fate's far too used to that to notice. Even if he wasn't aware of the conversation now, he'd somehow manage to remember it later.

"Ella's placing significance on Yukina's name. These bonds formed before birth are incredibly powerful. More so than I thought…" She was almost jumping with a combination of contained excitement and confusion.

"How so?" His mind was evidently elsewhere, one reason she liked to confide her revelations in him. Gentlom wouldn't tell anyone, unless asked to by her, and he gave off vibes of not paying attention—mainly because he wasn't. But that gave her a sense a comfort—she could say anything with no reaction. It was a nice change.

"She felt drawn to a name that was attached to a soul _after_ it was given a body… _after_ the three of them were separated."

"So it would seem. What will you do?" Gentlom didn't notice her eyes light up with sudden inspiration; he hardly registered the door slamming as she ran off to act upon it.

* * *

Kurama didn't really have any friends at school. They all viewed him as slightly odd, as if something were off in his personality. He was personality, sure, but he didn't act like a nineteen year old. Not even close. But they couldn't pin down exactly what it was. Throw into the mix the fact that he'd disappeared suddenly for a little more than a year to "study abroad" then come back to take a second senior year and he was no longer slightly weird, but downright weird.

But even "Shuichi Minamino" had nothing on his new friend. He was of an unusually short stature, wore strange clothes (made stranger by the fact that uniforms were required), and never seemed to eat. He also had no respect; he was a very arrogant, well, not _kid_; he was like Shuichi in that respect, seeming more like an adult than was natural.

But what truly made the other students wonder was the fact that his fascination with Ella (arguably even weirder than both Shuichi and the new kid) bordered on obsession, or even stalking. Not that she seemed to notice. And if she did notice, she didn't care in the slightest.

She and her friend Yuri had taken to sitting with Hiei and Shuichi at lunch. But even with Ella in that close proximity—and his clear obsession with her—the new student's expression remained calm, inscrutable, with that constant undertone of malice.

The only difference was noticeable to no one but Kurama. In Hiei, there were the beginnings of what looked like uncertainty and confusion.

* * *

The door slammed and Fate was once again treading the same patch of floor. "How'd it go?" Gentlom asked absently, sending another soul off to another body in another life.

"I didn't do anything. Ella's at school. So is Hiei, which almost worries me. I went around encouraging a few other people like I should be doing instead of dedicating so much time to this one pair. But something about them is interesting in a way I cannot explain; I'm continually and unintentionally drawn to them."

"Cītā, what are your intentions? I feel they may be dangerous." As usual, Gentlom was picking up much more than he was letting on.

"I'm going to accidentally tell Ella Yukina is Hiei's sister. Tell her not to tell. Then arrange a meeting between the two of them." She paused, her eyes glittering happily. "I'm counting on Ella not being able to keep her mouth shut."

"Be careful… Hiei has a fiery spirit… If any one person could pose a threat to us, it would be him…"

"I'm aware. And I'm willing to risk it." Suddenly something occurred to Fate. "Gentlom… do you give the souls certain spiritual characteristics?"

Gentlom looked up. The look on his face was one of rare confusion. His sister seemed to be drawing that out a lot lately. "The souls are what they are. As you cannot change the person's very being without their consent, so can I not alter the basic nature of a soul. Dheunos is the same. We change situations, not people, Cītā. The situations and the experiences are what cause the changes in the soul." In his usual half-present manner, Gentlom drew forth an incredible piece of wisdom and imparted it to his sister, leaving her stunned at the truth in his words, without realizing the effect they had had on her.

"So I can talk to them, lead them in a certain direction, but I could never control their response. Free will." The idea that free will and the Fates could exist at one time was something she had long understood, but never voiced. And the contradiction of the two in human terms was astounding.

Gentlom didn't seem so stunned. He just nodded, "Mm-hmm…"

* * *

"Ella, what's going on with you?" School was over and Yuri was walking with Ella back to Ella's apartment.

"What do you mean?" Ella called back, dancing, spinning down the sidewalk in the spring air.

"You seem… different," Yuri said, not sure of what she was trying to say.

"I don't feel any different," Ella laughed as the first drops of what would later be a violent storm hit her face.

"You seem… dreamy. Dreamier than normal, I mean."

Ella slowed down, "Whatever you say, Yuri."

"So what are you going to… Wait, are you even listening to me, Ella?"

"Yeah. Dreamy. Okay."

Where Gentlom's strange ability to listen, comprehend, and remember put Fate at ease, Ella's similar but less impressive ability to do the same aggravated Yuri. It made her feel Ella wasn't listening. Particularly since that was often the case.

Then Yuri said, "Ella, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." This was not a common response from Ella. She was normally willing to tell Yuri everything.

"Come on, Ella, you can tell me."

Ella looked at Yuri with a blank stare. Then she caught Yuri's meaning. "No, Yuri. I'm literally not thinking about anything."

"Well, some thoughts must have intruded on that nothing. What are they?"

"Well, Shuichi's face has come up, the name Yukina, I'm hungry, so cookies, ice cream sandwiches and rice, cats, my socks, Hiei a couple of times," she continued rattling off all the random things she'd thought of, unaware that her smile had brightened by a miniscule amount, just enough for Yuri to notice, when she had said Hiei's name.

* * *

"Ella!" Fate said the moment the girl unlocked her door. "I have a very important matter to discuss with you!"

"Okay." The girl smiled. Fate stopped. Ella was even bubblier now than was normal. What had happened at her school today? Yuri saw her question and mouthed 'Hiei is stalking her.'

That made Fate nearly fall over with delight. But before she could say anything, Ella asked, "Who's Yukina?"

Fate couldn't have planned this better herself. "Hiei's sister, now…" she pretended to catch sight of Yuri's and Ella's stunned faces. "Oops. That was supposed to be kept in the dark."

* * *

Kiyoshi: Been a while since you actually wrote a chapter out longhand on a piece of paper.

FCL64: You really think I have nothing better to do in Spanish than pay attention?

Kiyoshi: Just Spanish?

FCL64: Shut up. Now on to reviews!  
Kuramasredredrose: yes. letting the story flow is good. i've discovered that whenever i truly try to fight it, my writing suffers. badly. as for when he's going to admit it... i'm not at liberty to discuss it.

Kiyoshi: In other words, she doesn't know.

FCL64: Liar. I know... I just don't want to give anything away. The next time you interrupt, _you_ get to finish answering the reviews.

Kiyoshi: you make it sound like we don't like answering reviews. which means we don't like reviews.

FCL64: Correction. _you_ don't like answering reviews. i have no problem with it.  
animegrlsteph: actually... he's not stalking kurama... he's stalking _ella_ (possibly making it even creepier)  
heve-chan: lectures... i never thought of it that way. and i totally agree-hiei is cute when he's pissed off.  
babygirl1998: glad you liked it. as for rewriting your story, it depends on what you mean. rewriting the actually story... no, I like that the way it is. editing it to make sure there aren't any mistakes and changing the formatting so it's easier to read, yes. hope that helps.


	15. I Give Light to the World

Kiyoshi: You look funny.

FCL64: You look funnier.

Kiyoshi: You're an imbecile.

FCL64: Many much moosen!

Kiyoshi: Why do I bother?

* * *

_I Give Light to the World…_

"Really? He never told me he had a sister!"

"Ella," Yuri said, shaking her head, "He never talks…"

"Oh yeah." Ella smiled and Fate laughed. Then Ella said, "I wanna meet her."

Fate could barely make the smile disappear from her face. But she forced herself to say, "You can't Ella. Hiei doesn't want anyone to know. Even Yukina doesn't know."

Ella's face fell then became confused. The concept of having a sibling, someone to trust, but wanting no one to know, wanting to separate oneself from them completely… that idea was utterly incomprehensible to her, it went against her very nature.

* * *

Later that night Ella walked with Yuri to Yuri's house. Yuri tried to talk her out of it, but Ella knew she really didn't want to walk home alone in the rain. It wasn't raining hard when they left, but they were still soaked by the time they arrived. Yuri's mother was horrified and tried to get Ella to stay the night. But Ella just said she had guests waiting for her at home.

But she didn't go straight back to her apartment. She enjoyed the rain. It made her feel secure. The constant patter of rain and the slow rumble of thunder were sounds she had always known. No matter what was happening in her life, the rain always sounded the same. She didn't notice when the slow, steady rain escalated into something akin to a hurricane. Violent winds whipped her hair around and the pouring rain plastered her clothes to her body. But she didn't notice and headed to the park.

While there, she exalted in the rain and the dark. She reached out with her consciousness and felt the presence of the raindrops, the grass, the small burrowing animals, the trees. One tree caught her attention. An old oak, she felt its pain. Muted, not like a person's pain, but still there. She hurried over in the blinding rain to provide what comfort she could. She stood with one hand on its bark for several minutes, smiling, content that the tree felt her presence and knew she cared, knew she was listening.

Then a branch, the source of the tree's pain, fell, crashing violently through the other limbs of the tree, knocking Ella to the ground. She didn't stand back up.

Some distance away, Hiei's eyes widened. He saw the branch and the girl but was too far away to do anything. At least after that one second of indecision. He hovered a moment, then raced away.

* * *

Kurama opened the door only to be dragged into the rain by a soaking wet Hiei.

"And you just left her there? Stuck under a branch bigger than herself in the pouring rain in the middle of the night?" Kurama's shouting was partly from anger, partly from the need to make himself heard over the thunder.

"I am not the healer you are, Kurama." His words came out in a strange mix of anger at Kurama, confusion, worry, and guilt, of all things. But Kurama didn't notice. He just yelled at his mom to send an ambulance to the park, and he and Hiei were off as fast as they could go.

* * *

Fate's eyes snapped open. She had been trying to fall into her usual half-sleep. But her favorite person—Ella—had been injured. She just knew. She woke Gentlom and dragged him out of the apartment, rushing and easily finding Yukina. Then to the hospital.

* * *

Kurama and Hiei arrived only moments before the ambulance and found Ella still unconscious beneath the tree. They carefully removed the branch from over her and pulled her out of the way, should it fall back over. Kurama tried to stop the bleeding from a wound on her head. But that was difficult considering the rain kept the blood from clotting properly.

The sirens announced the arrival of the ambulance and Hiei melted into the shadows. Kurama immediately took control of the situation, stubbornly refusing to let the medics do anything without his approval or help. They did so reluctantly after seeing that the kid actually knew what he was talking about. He then impulsively told them he was her brother in order to be allowed to ride to the hospital in the ambulance with her. Hiei followed the emergency vehicle back to the hospital at his usual lightning pace.

Upon arriving at the hospital, the medics rushed Ella into the ER and Kurama and Hiei went around to get visitor passes as quickly as possible. Going in, they met Gentlom, Fate, and Yukina. Hiei's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he remained silent. Kurama hissed at Fate, "I told them I'm her brother under the name Minamino. First thing that came to mind." Fate nodded as they rushed inside.

A weirder group of people the ER staff had never seen, and they sincerely hoped it would stay that way. Particularly the woman who did all the talking. She ran in, leading the others, simultaneously screaming, "Where's Ella?" They stopped her, telling her only family was allowed to see a patient while they were in the ER. "I'm her _mother_," Fate snapped back so quickly and with so much force that it didn't ever occur to them to doubt her. "And these are her brothers, her sister and her father. Are you going to let us in or not? I want to see my daughter." She slammed her hands down on the counter, successfully diverting attention away from Yukina's surprise and Gentlom's vague, raised-eyebrow sort of questioning look. If Hiei was surprised at all, it didn't show.

They were soon checked in as visitors. Ella was waking up just as they entered her room. Her doctor looked up surprised. Ella smiled brightly, if sleepily. Fate quickly introduced them as her family, getting Ella in on the lie before she could say anything.

"Well, now that you're here, I'd like to tell you about Ella's situation. She has a broken wrist, a deep cut on her forehead—it'll need stitches,—many minor scrapes and bruises and I'm fairly certain she hit her head, so she may have a concussion. In addition she is far too cold." If the appearances of Ella's "family" disoriented the doctor in any way, they couldn't tell. Of course, he was probably expecting it, given Ella's appearance. He continued, "Does she have any known allergies?"

Kurama, the most normal looking member of the group, jumped in, telling the doctor of Ella's violent allergy to certain preservatives. The doctor then fled the room, glad to escape the truly bizarre family.

Kurama and Yukina immediately moved in on Ella. Yukina did her best to minimize the pain while Kurama concentrated on using his herbs to heal the cuts—the less chemical treatments Ella received, the better. There wasn't much either of them could do for her wrist in the short window of time until the doctor came back.

Sure enough, he entered and saw Ella's cuts were partially healed. No stitches necessary. He looked down at his notes, then at the family. Kurama smiled gently, and Fate said, "We've found that faith can heal many injuries as effectively as conventional medicine." The doctor put a hand to his head, gave Ella more painkillers, then began to set her wrist.

She laughed. "Shuichi, I was helping a tree. A branch fell on me." Only Ella would find the situation of helping something and it hurting you amusing. The doctor looked up.

"I am fairly certain she may have suffered head trauma. We are probably looking at a concussion, possibly something worse. Nothing life-threatening as far as I can tell, but she will probably need to stay for a day or two for observation." This conclusion was based on Ella's weird comments.

"No," Fate assured the doctor, "She's fine. That is her normal personality, as abnormal as it may seem to you."

He nodded, finished setting the wrist, and left. As he left, Fate couldn't resist calling out, "If you ask her out, she'll say yes."

* * *

After a few hours of everyone staring awkwardly at everyone else as nurses walked in and out, Hiei stood up. "I'm hungry."

He moved toward the door but Kurama stopped him. "We are not here to raise hell. No theft." He handed Hiei some money and Hiei grunted before leaving the room.

Fate took that opportunity to introduce Yukina. Ella's response was fairly predictable. She wasn't exactly good at keeping secrets in the first place, and now she was doped up on painkillers as well. "Hiei's sister?" she asked vaguely as Fate pretended to try to get her to shut up.

After a very long silence, Kurama started laughing at the plan so obviously engineered by Fate. Yukina said, "Hiei's… sister?" just as Hiei walked in. He froze, his eyes narrowed, the ice cream in his hand fell to the floor.

"Who told?" he growled.

"Ella," Kurama replied, now trying to contain his laughter so as not to enrage Hiei any further.

Before he could ask, or even begin to wonder, how Ella found out, Yukina walked over and hugged him. "I'm sure you had your reasons for not telling me. I'm glad, though. You're not a bad person at heart, which is what I feared my brother would be," she whispered.

He sat down, bewildered. This wasn't the reaction he had expected from Yukina. He had expected fear, disgust, horror. But because her reaction was so obviously a positive one, he somehow couldn't bring himself to be angry with Ella. And that was the main source of his confusion; his hand would not have been stayed by anything in this situation just a few days ago. What had changed?

* * *

The next day, after Ella was released from the hospital, Hiei sat in Kurama's room holding his head. That's how he was when Kurama left for school. That's how he was when Kurama returned home. He hadn't moved a muscle.

"Ella missed you at school today," Kurama told him carefully. So carefully it was like he was walking through a mine field.

Hiei gave no indication that he had heard. Then Kurama, risking severe to fatal injuries, asked, "Is something wrong, Hiei?"

Very quietly, talking to himself and ashamed of what he was saying at the same time, Hiei muttered, "I was there. I knew the branch was falling. I could have kept her from getting hurt. But I wasn't sure if I _wanted_ to help her. By the time I had decided, it was to late. But I can't explain why I can't stop thinking about it… why I want to tell her it's my fault she got hurt. That's illogical; I didn't make the branch fall, but still…"

He wasn't really talking to Kurama, but Kurama answered anyway. The corners of his mouth slowly drifting upward, Kurama said, "You don't have to be at fault to feel guilty, Hiei."

* * *

Kiyoshi: Any particular reason this chapter is so long?

FCL64: There was no good place to stop. Kiyoshi… what's the meaning of the universe?

Kiyoshi: What?

FCL64: I was think about the meaning of the universe. Why is it here, why are we here, what's the purpose of it all.

Kiyoshi: I couldn't tell you. But the trees know. If you listen, they will tell you.

FCL64: So I should…

Kiyoshi: Listen to the trees. The mountains. The rivers. The wind.

FCL64: Because only the earth itself knows the meaning.

Kiyoshi: Yes. If you listen, it will speak. Just listen to the trees.

FCL64: I'll try. And on that almost surreal note, we shall reluctantly head on to the answering of reviews… Reviews kind of bring us back from that happy place, don't they?  
Kuramasredredrose: No... not evil. She has a slightly wicked sense of humor though. :)  
animegrlsteph: definitely. only Ella would not notice she blurted it out on purpose. But that's Ella for you.  
EmyNegro: Glad you're enjoying it. As for Hiei stalking someone... I agree. It's strange but at the same time, he doesn't eve realize he's doing it.  
heve-chan: Ella's powers... Maybe I didn't really make that clear. She is very fast, but other than that, nada. She just has her sixth sense which is just ridiculous but also makes her need to zone it all out (therefore the reason she can feel the 'life' or whatever of the raindrops, and the tree's pain). Hope that answers your question.


	16. I Give Sight to Your Eyes

FCL64: This chapter is continuing on a different track than the last chapter, but it contains some important information about Ella (as well as Yuri, kind of) and, just as a heads up, there are things that have been mentioned before that are important that will be mentioned again in this chapter (small things; they'll become important later), so look out for those. Here's the chapter.

Kiyoshi: Wait, don't I get to talk?

FCL64: You just did.

* * *

_I Give Sight to Your Eyes…_

Koenma walked in on Botan frantically searching through files. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Ella… you wanted information on her," Botan muttered, flipping hurriedly through a file, shoving it back haphazardly, and grabbing another one.

"Well, what have you found so far?"

"Nothing."

"_Nothing_?"

"Nothing. According to Underworld records, the girl Ella simply does not exist."

* * *

"What do you think?"

The question was spoken by Kuwabara, directed at Yusuke. "What do I think of what?"

"The whole thing with Koenma's past. Siblings, a weird dislike for demons that, while its been toned down, is still there."

"Whatever."

Kuwabara was taken aback by this response. As long as he had known Yusuke, his affinity for picking fights for no reason but actually having a fairly easygoing attitudes toward the people themselves (so long as they left him alone) had been a source of confusion to Kuwabara. But this trumped all else. Yusuke genuinely did not care. "How can you say that?"

Yusuke looked away from the vulgar sitcom he was watching. "His past is his business. Far as I can tell, any plans he had to destroy the demonic were over before they had begun, his brother and sister being the way they are. S'long as he doesn't try anything with me… like I said, that's his business. What do you think of it, Kuwabara?" As if he really cared for Kuwabara's opinion.

Kuwabara answered anyway. "I fear he's dragged us into a feud that has been going on far too long. It could be dangerous. Particularly since we don't have Hiei's and Kurama's help."

"That's what makes it fun," Yusuke replied, returning his attention to the tv.

* * *

"How can Cītā have found her when we didn't know she existed?" Koenma snapped.

"There are billions of souls out there, sir," Botan replied, shuffling more slowly through the papers. "It is not physically possible to keep track of everyone. We can hardly keep track of the dead, the dying, and the criminals. None of which applies to Ella. I'd imagine that Cītā has contact with less souls than we do, but she has a more significant impact. We see everyone eventually. As does Gentlom. Cītā hasn't enough _time_ to intervene on behalf of everyone."

"I suppose that makes sense." As much as he hated to admit it.

* * *

The special defense force had been following Fate for days now. And, outwardly, she seemed perfectly harmless. A calm, semi-floating, motherly creature looking after her charges. But they could not watch her one hundred percent of the time. They could not follow her into the girl's home.

And she knew she was being followed.

* * *

She had told Yuri that a few days before. "It's funny, having them follow me. They think they're stealthy, but their intentions are obvious, at least to me. If Ella were to pay attention she would realize that two of them are tailing her."

"I can't imagine what I must be like to be Ella," Yuri sighed, watching her friend painting the wall a vivid blue. "Her senses are constantly bombarded… it's no wonder she's always off in her own little world; trying to comprehend all the spiritual information that's coming at her… it would drive anyone mad." She seemed a little sad. Ella's tendency not to pay attention, while understandable, was still worrisome.

Fate suddenly changed tracks, trying to enlighten herself. Even as the Fate of Life, she was far from knowing everything about everyone. "How did you meet Ella, Yuri?"

Yuri smiled, fondly remembering when she'd first seen Ella.

_A fourteen year old Yuri is walking down the road. School today, like every other day, had been boring. She sighs then glances up. Out of the corner of her eye she catches sight of the strangest person she has ever seen._

_It is a girl two or three years older than she is, judging by her appearance. Her hair is black with thick streaks of shining silver. Her clothes are ragged and look like no clothes Yuri has ever seen. The closest thing she can compare them to would be a tunic. And the girl looks completely dejected._

_Yuri hasn't had the best day either, but if the girl's expression is any indication, in comparison Yuri's has been a walk in the park. And in spite of her odd appearance, Yuri approaches the girl, suddenly aware of stains on her clothing that look suspiciously like blood. "Is there anything wrong? Or anything I can do to help?" she asks, now nervous._

_The girl cocks her head to one side as though confused. Then mutters to herself, "Human…" Yuri begins to regret her decision; the girl is far weirder than she imagined. But then the girl says sadly, indicating the blood, "My best friend just died." That someone would tell this to a complete stranger surprises Yuri, but the girl just smiles. It's a slow, sad smile that forces Yuri to change her opinion yet again. This time the opinion she forms of the girl is the correct one: she comes to the conclusion that, while she is very odd and has been through something Yuri wants to know nothing about, she still needs a friend. Then she hears herself ask, "Would you like to come over for dinner?"_

_The girl hesitates, unsure of Yuri's intentions, then a true smile breaks across her face. Compared to the weak, sad smile and statement of just moments before, this smile is astounding. Yuri cannot recall another time in which she saw a smile filled with such pure, innocent joy. In little kids, maybe, but no one older than ten or eleven. But she doesn't have time to wonder at it for the girl says, "I'm Ella."_

"_Yuri," she responds, her voice slightly dazed. She starts walking home and Ella follows. As Ella's light footsteps resound on the sidewalk next hers she notices something else off in Ella's appearance. "I'm sorry, but is there a reason you're not wearing any shoes?"_

_Once again she receives that slightly bewildered look. Then, "Why would I? I've never worn shoes in my life? Why would I start now?"_

"_You've gone seventeen years without ever wearing shoes?" In all honesty, Yuri hasn't any idea how old Ella is, but that is her best guess. And she doesn't really mean to say it aloud anyway._

"_Seventeen?" Ella responds, "I'm not seventeen. I'm one hundred and sixty one." She smiles brightly, sincerely. She is obviously not making fun of Yuri, but then she continues, "I'm a demon?"_

_That certainly explains a lot. But it raises even more questions than it answers, on of which is whether or not Ella is delusional. But Yuri cannot find her voice to ask any of them. Just when she opens her mouth to croak, "Demon?" Ella begins to sing. Not quietly and to herself either. It is loud, joyous, and she wants the whole world to hear. And Yuri would be embarrassed to be seen with her except for the fact that she is in awe of the pure quality of Ella's voice. It is one of the most beautiful voices Yuri has ever heard. But it's also evident that Ella is not aware of this. She is singing simply to sing, now dancing simply to dance. She is oblivious to the stares she is receiving._

_They finally arrive at Yuri's house. Yuri calls out to her mother that she has brought a friend home for dinner. Her mother rushes in to greet whosoever it may be, then stops dead and nearly faints at the sight of her daughter's new friend._

Yuri laughed quietly to herself then told Fate the whole story. After she had finished she looked at Ella, still painting, dancing, singing, oblivious. "Three years… three years and she's exactly the same…" Yuri said quietly as Ella's sweet voice echoed through the room. "I just hope she won't change." There was a subtle threat laced beneath her words but Fate heard every bit of it. "I hope this run-in with Hiei and Fate doesn't leave her the way I found her."

* * *

Kiyoshi: That was interesting.

FCL64: I am aware. Although, I'm not sure how I'm going to get from chapter sixteen to eighteen or nineteen. I know what will be written for one of those two chapters, but Hiei is not mentally prepared for it. And I'm not sure how I'm going to bridge the gap.

Kiyoshi: Just stop talking. You are obviously very tired. You're rambling about nothing. I will answer the reviews.  
heve-chan: glad we cleared things up. Yeah, she is cute when she's zoned (which is pretty much all of the time). A development there is the idea, glad you can see it actually being possible.  
EmyNegro: Glad you think we did a good job keeping Hiei in character. It's been harder in this story than in many others.  
Kuramasredredrose: He's stupid? But it's coming (eventually).


	17. From the First of All Time

Kiyoshi: You are ridiculous.

FCL64: Got a problem with it?

Kiyoshi: …no. Just stating a fact.

FCL64: Why am I ridiculous?

Kiyoshi: Four chapters in a week.

FCL64: Welllllll, you should know by now that writing them comes easier than getting the enthusiasm to get on the computer and post them.

Kiyoshi: I cannot believe you just said that.

* * *

_From the First of All Time…_

Since the day in the hospital, Hiei had not followed Kurama to school, much to the relief of Kurama's teachers. Unfortunately for them, now that three days had passed, he decided to return. And he was not happy.

Kurama had been lecturing him on the concept of guilt. And he found the very idea of it appalling. As a result, almost every word that came out of the fox demon's mouth made him angry. Hiei didn't realize it, but he was touchier than usual. The only thing to be said for his mood was that it wasn't as bad as could have been. Wasn't as bad as it would have been if Fate had decided to stop by.

He couldn't have known she was stepping back to let his own emotions work on him first before she took over. Of course, doing so could mean Hiei might get violent faster because of his confusion. But if she waited long enough, that confusion would most likely give way to something that was a cross between confusion and despair—despair because his life was turning on end and he had no idea how to right it. They were generally easier to handle in that state. More willing to accept guidance. Hiei was no different. Not that he was aware of that.

But the day he returned to school, the bewildering feeling that it was all his fault was amplified by the sight of Ella. Despite Kurama and Yukina's healing, there was still a cut on her forehead that would probably leave a scar on her lovely face, as Hiei thought of it without consciously thinking it. But the more obvious reminder was the blue and white brace around her left wrist.

For her part, Ella didn't blame Hiei. Reaching out with her senses in the park that night, she had felt his presence. But she was so absorbed by the joy of the storm that she paid him no notice. She knew he was there. She didn't care why. And it wasn't his fault the branch fell. It wasn't his fault she hadn't been inside.

She was never exactly unpopular. She was smart, but an oddity. Kind, but hard to approach. She had a lot of "friends"—people she got along well with but wasn't really close to. But now that she was injured, everyone wanted to know how it happened.

She didn't mind the attention. Hiei did. Seeing Ella talking and laughing with other people—other guys—brought up another emotion in Hiei. Unlike guilt, this one was slightly more familiar although he still couldn't guess at its reason. The desire to have something someone else possessed. Jealousy. But you cannot simply steal a person.

Hiei's glare deepened each time an episode such as this repeated itself. Kurama just hid his grin.

Ella wasn't aware that her eyes and face were even happier than normal. Her classmates noticed it but never would have guessed the reason. But Yuri knew.

* * *

While neither Fate nor Gentlom had spent much time thinking of Koenma, Koenma had spent most of his waking hours worrying about the effects their presence would have on the human realm. He had become far too used to the feeling that he alone controlled the flow of souls through the universe, with occasional help from his father. Faced with the reality that he only controlled the dead, with very limited influence over the living, and none at all over those yet to live, threw him off.

And he was not yet convinced that Fate and Gentlom were correct in the area of demons. He remained convinced that demons were dangerous to the royal family. He had seen Yusuke. He knew Yusuke was far less powerful than some of the demons out there. And he had seen that those powerful demons were in fact capable of a level of organization and cooperation that was frightening. If they wished, they could easily organize a revolt that would topple the balance of power that had existed for so many millennia.

What Koenma had yet to learn was that such revolutions had been attempted. They just never managed to gain the needed support from the necessary people. The big, important players—Yomi, Mukuro, Raizen, others like them who came before them—they knew the way the universe worked. Understood it. Accepted it. Respected it. Things could not exist outside the balance the three realms had maintained since the beginning of time. They understood that some form of government was needed and that, while the laws could be bent, breaking them would not be wise. Internal balances could change with no dire effects on the universe as a whole; waging war on the Fates was potentially catastrophic for all three realms. Destroy the Fate of Birth and the world would stagnate; no new people, no new ideas, and eventually everyone would die. Destroy the Fate of Death and overcrowding in all three realms became a threat. Worst of all, destroy the Fate of Life and living could very possibly lose all meaning. They understood this. They had no desire to overthrow those living in the underworld and maintaining the balance of nature.

But Koenma viewed them as dangerous and violent. He did not realize that the demons with the power to do so, had no desire to start a war with the Fates. And for that reason, he mistrusted his siblings.

* * *

Hiei sat at Kurama's dining room table, eating dinner with Kurama and his family. He said nothing but Kurama knew his thoughts.

In response to those thoughts, Kurama told him,

"_dulce rīdentem, miserō quod omnēs  
__ēripit sēnsūs mihi: nam simul tē,  
__Lesbia, aspexī, nihil est super mī  
__Vōcis in ōre_"

The words had a lyrical, metered sound, suggesting poetry. Nothing more, either; he just continued eating. His mother and her husband and her stepson had ceased to question where he had learned such things. It was useless to ask for he always effectively dodged the questions. Hiei, however, didn't care about the where. "Not you too. What does it mean." His glare suggested it was a command, not a question.

Kurama barely glanced up. Then he shrugged. "I don't know. But I bet I know someone who could tell you." Kurama's meaning was obvious and Hiei didn't like it. The glare that almost constantly covered his face nowadays grew fiercer, but something had been unlocked inside him and, no matter how he tried, nothing would shut it again. And among the things released from the Pandora's Box in his heart was curiosity. Slight but still there. And, after a while, it would become annoying enough that he would act upon it.

Meanwhile, the someone Kurama had referred to was busy planning her next assault on Hiei's stubbornness.

* * *

FCL64: Well that's that. That is a legit Latin poem by Catullus (to be translated and explained further three or four chapters from now; sorry if you're dying to know what it means; you'll have to wait or figure it out on your own). Here's Kiyoshi and his plant with the reviews! (runs from room)

Kiyoshi: Grrr…  
heve-chan: No need to worry about boredom. We love long reviews. :) As for the gap... the author's notes are written when the chapter is typed, not when it's posted (the author has no sense of the passage of time, evidently). The only thing edited just before updating is the addition of the replies to reviews. We always try to have one or two chapters written ahead of the chapter we're posting. Just in case we get stuck, we still have the ability to give regular updates. We appreciate the advice anyway, and would like you to know that the next chapter has a lot of interaction between the individual characters (just as you suggested). Sorry if the way the story is written and posted is a bit confusing.  
EmyNegro: We're glad you're enjoying it. As for the lack of Hiei-Ella interaction, it's simply Hiei's stubborness. As for romance and fluff... it's unlikely this story will contain much, if any (the story was always intended to show the fight Hiei puts up against Fate, not the romance that follows). Sorry to disappoint.  
animegrlsteph: Yes, some of the comments Ella makes are rather entertaining. She's definitely her own person. As for Yuri and Ella's first meeting... I agree. It is cute.  
Kuramasredredrose: We are glad you like them so much. As far as OC's go, they are some of our favorites. Although, the author seems to have formed more of an attachment to Gentlom than to Fate, which is odd...

FCL64: (reappearing) Shut up. As for liking my OCs... they are some of my favorites but they don't really stand a chance of becoming my VERY FAVORITEST OF MY OCS EVER.

Kiyoshi: Why's that?

FCL64: You already have that position and are showing no signs of losing it.


	18. Until Time Is Undone

FCL64: I feel kind of sick. Kiyoshi, you take over.

Kiyoshi: Why do you feel sick?

FCL64: I ate dinner, went to church and played volleyball, then ate four or five pieces of pizza, all in the space of about two and a half hours.

Kiyoshi: Well… since she hasn't done a disclaimer in a year and a half, we own Ella, Yuri, Fate, and Gentlom. Here's a very odd chapter.

* * *

_Until Time Is Undone…_

Hiei's stalking had reached a new level of weirdness. He followed Ella to work. Well, kind of. Walked her to work since she wouldn't let him follow but insisted on walking next to him. She chattered happily all the way there. He walked in silence wondering why she didn't hate him. Then he hovered and watched her for her entire shift.

At one point the manager approached him and asked a question. But he was far too absorbed in his staring, trying to figure out the enigma that was Ella, to even hear the words. The man sighed, saw where he was looking, and became alarmed. Ella wasn't the best employee but she had a lot on her plate, living alone and putting herself through school. And she was a sweet girl. But if this man intended to harm her, her absent-mindedness would make it all too easy.

So, having failed in his attempt to get Hiei to leave, the manager approached Ella to warn her. Since she had no family, he looked at her kind of as a daughter. "Ella," he said when her register had a short break in customers.

"Yes?" she said, smiling the bright smile everyone there had come to appreciate. The smile of simply enjoying life.

"There is a man watching you. I want you to be careful when you go home tonight, okay?"

She looked around, understanding crossed her face, and she said, "Oh, that's just Hiei. He's my friend." Then the last thing her employer expected. Ella sparkled, she glowed, she was so genuinely happy. Simply at the _thought_ of the strange man. Then the manager understood and decided to leave it alone. As weird as the man was, he knew Ella was far weirder, and he came to the conclusion that they were probably a good match, should fate allow it.

* * *

Kurama eventually found Hiei, staring at Ella. And he could not get the stubborn fire demon to budge. "Stalking someone is not acceptable in this society," Kurama hissed.

"Like I care what they think."

"Ella cares."

A glare. "No one will think badly of her." Not only was it logical, word choice revealed that he cared what Ella thought, and he knew his decision would not effect how people perceived her.

While the whole situation increased tensions between Kurama and Hiei, Kurama knew that, eventually, the tensions would lessen because Hiei would be happier. He trusted Fate to accomplish that.

* * *

The next day in biology, Kurama and Ella were paired together as lab partners. She didn't have his aptitude for biology (although she made up for that in psychology, easily surpassing him; Kurama had always been able to analyze people and predict their reactions. But quite often those reactions were illogical and he couldn't quite grasp the _why_. Ella herself was illogical and he had to admit that, despite living alone most of her life, Ella understood people better than he did. Hence her success in psych).

But even though she didn't have perfect grades in bio—low As for the most part—she loved it. And Kurama risked melting her joy by asking, "What do you think of Hiei?"

"What about him?"

"Just…" Kurama didn't really know what he was trying to get at as he set up the microscope, "whatever you think about him in general."

"He's kind of funny," Ella said, oblivious to Kurama's stare as she got out other necessary supplies. "I can feel he wants to ask me something, or tell me something, but he never says anything. And he seems nice enough; he walked me to work yesterday, then back home." _Nice_ was definitely _not_ a word Kurama would have picked to describe the temperamental demon "sleeping" on the other side of the room (in reality he was listening to every word they said, and Kurama knew it).

"I wonder…" Kurama said suddenly, "Is it possible that he might not be aware he wants to ask or say something?"

"How would he not know?" she seemed perfectly confused.

"Ella, you can sense anyone's aura for what it truly is and sense it in ways no one else can. Maybe that is somehow connected to people's perception of other's intentions." More likely was that Ella was picking up on Hiei's emotions simply because of their unearthly bond, but Kurama had not been informed of that.

Neither had Ella. "I suppose. Oops. Sorry, Shuichi."

Kurama sighed and got new chemicals as Ella cleaned up the floor.

* * *

"Ella, oh Ella!" Yuri sang out. It was the end of the week and she wanted to get away from school.

Ella floated down the hallway toward her. She seemed out of place among the mass of teenagers excited for the weekend. She seemed more like the adult she was than ever before. Content and unaffected. "What class did you just have?" Yuri asked suspiciously.

"Biology."

"Who's in that class?" Still suspicious.

"Shuichi." And it went unsaid that Hiei followed Shuichi—or Kurama—everywhere.

"I worry about you Ella." She was only half-joking.

* * *

Just as they were walking out, Yuri heard her name. She turned to see bright red hair coming toward her. "I need to talk to you a moment. Ella, could you wait here? You can have Yuri back in a moment." Ella nodded in her usual semi-present manner.

They strolled away and Kurama said, "Have you told Ella my name yet?" She shook her head. He sighed. "You may as well… it may cause complications for me, but I think it will be better in the long run if you told her than if someone else… let it slip."

Yuri nodded, "As for… the other thing, Ella's playing her part to perfection. She knows it's happening, I think, but it's not happening on purpose either and she's doing nothing to stop it."

"I noticed. Hiei's a little slower on the uptake but it's happening for him as well." Yuri nodded and walked back to tell Ella what Kurama had asked.

And neither of them had really needed an update; they both knew exactly what was going on, just wanted to keep the other informed.

* * *

At lunch that day Yuri had been seen with Hiei. Ella and Kurama were getting their lunches from their lockers. Yuri was smart and pretty but she wasn't exactly known for being calm. She didn't get mad often, but when she did, her anger was nearly tangible. And she was not afraid to throw a punch, particularly where Ella was involved. And something Hiei had done or said had incited that anger.

Four or five inches taller than him, she stood up and dragged him to his feet by the collar of his shirt. Then she held him there, fists clenched around the fabric. Then she leaned in and everyone could tell she was angry from her expression. She looked just short of punching him, in fact. Hiei didn't seem to happy either. She whispered something, dropped his shirt, and stalked away. Hiei readjusted his clothes and he, too, looked like he was close to violence.

She had meant what she said. And Hiei would never have admitted that he felt she was telling the truth. What Yuri had whispered was, "If you break her heart, I will murder you in your sleep."

* * *

FCL64: Uhhhh…

Kiyoshi: Go to sleep. You're tired and you feel sick. I'll answer the reviews, as much as I hate doing this.  
animegrlsteph: Of course it falls into place just how Fate wants it to! She's Fate; there's not much you can do to stop her, once she's set her mind on something.  
EmyNegro: Love you too! We love all of our reviewers. Here's your update!  
heve-chan: There's your interactions. And you have absolutely no idea how happy it made the author when you told her you looked up a translation to the poem. She didn't think anyone would. As for where we get the quotes, one of her teachers had a quote on the board every day, and she always wrote them down. She's enrolled in Latin, there's the Latin quotes... and we have to four hundred-something page books of nothing but quotes. The problem is finding the _right_ quote.  
Kuramasredredrose: stupid, stubborn, prideful Hiei... that's a very good way to put it. He will learn soon enough. Not next chapter but the chapter after that (I think...).


	19. Forever and Ever and Ever and Ever

Kiyoshi: Hurrah!

FCL64: You're enthusiastic? What's this? Who are you? Where is my Kiyoshi?

Kiyoshi: Your Kiyoshi?

FCL64: My character, I have ownership. My Ella, my Fate, my Gentlom, my Yuri. MY KIYOSHI!

Kiyoshi: You feel better then…

* * *

_Forever and Ever and Ever and Ever…_

Koenma and Botan returned to the human realm. Koenma was feeling the overwhelming need to speak with his sister. To urge her to stop this nonsense. He had no idea what he'd do to convince her. Or Gentlom, for that matter. Cītā was strong-willed and outspoken. Gentlom was also very opinionated, but it was often difficult to determine what those opinions were, given that he very rarely gave anyone a straight answer.

Arriving at Ella's doorstep, he could sense they were there without consciously perceiving their entire auras. He slowly raised his fist to knock but then the door flew open. There stood Ella, no longer in her uniform but wearing a sleeveless, paint-splattered shirt and shorts. She stepped back. After a moment of staring expectantly at him she asked, "Are you going to come in or not?"

Unnerved by this welcome, Botan and Koenma stepped cautiously over the threshold. Once again the unfinished paint, the lack of furniture. His sister was lounging on the floor and staring out the narrow floor to ceiling window. Not that the view was great. But she could see people, which was all that mattered. "It's not my house so I can't kick you out," she said, not looking at him. Her hair streaked red momentarily before returning to the white shade that hinted at the blue and green that meant she was both calm and happy. "Too bad."

Gentlom was leaning against a recently-dried, electric blue wall pondering a spirit. "No need to be rude, Cītā," he mumbled absentmindedly.

Koenma had come to speak with them so it took a moment for him to realize that there were several other people present. Yuri was there; she spent a lot of time at Ella's because the environment Ella's presence created was so relaxed.

But for some inexplicable reason, Kurama was there as well. He was in the kitchen, but walked in as Fate made the comment that told everyone very clearly what she thought of Koenma.

And Hiei. He was feigning sleep, leaning up against one of Ella's purple kitchen cabinets. He was just visible from the living room.

Koenma had planned on a private encounter with his siblings, with only Botan and possibly Ella present. He had not counted on a group this large viewing a possibly violent showdown. But now he had no choice. Just as he was about to speak, Fate rolled away from the window. She lay on her side, propped up on her elbow and looked at him. "Well?"

"I'm willing to withdraw the charge of treason, provide you return immed—" Fate snorted loudly.

"We've been over this before, _Koenma_." She said his name rudely, mockingly, derisively. "You cannot control us. And I do not care if I am _charged_ with treason. I will never come back to be put on trial and convicted." She let loose another mocking laugh. "You'll have to kill me before you can control me."

Everyone reacted differently. Ella tilted her head sideways; Kurama restrained his laughter; Yuri was preparing to grab Ella and flee if a fight broke out; Hiei continued to pretend to sleep; Botan gasped; Gentlom raised his eyebrows and grinned slightly. Koenma's eyes widened in pure horror.

"I can control you," he said without thinking, unconsciously touching the pacifier that was in his mouth despite his human world form.

Now Fate was the one restraining laughter. "You actually think you can bluff? I know you wasted the aura in that thing not long ago interfering where you shouldn't have been. I also know that I have been saving my aura since I left should this day ever come," she lightly touched the silver locket around her neck, "as has Gentlom." She ended by gesturing to pouch at his waist, containing his seal—which remained a mystery to everyone but himself. "You cannot come close to matching our combined forces. I don't suggest you try."

Koenma muttered something meant to be unheard and Fate grinned wickedly. "Death always comes last, Dheunos. You're the youngest, hence the pacifier."

"Even if I can't control you, you should still return," he responded with as much conviction as he could muster, "You should give up this positive delusion you have of demons."

"No." It wasn't defiant; more I-don't-feel-like-it.

"You're being ridiculous and unreasonable!" he snapped.

She sat up. "_I'm_ being ridiculous?" Now she was on her feet, and the dangerous red and black streaks—the warning signs—reminded Koenma why he and his siblings never used to fight (Gentlom simply didn't get angry; Cītā's anger was at least as frightening as their father's). "_I'm_ being unreasonable?" Loud claps of thunder shook the building as her hair shimmered between its two most dangerous colors. While storms could come and go without her, she could call them up. And Koenma winced as her voice and the thunder crashed over him.

"I see the way the world works, Dheunos. I see a world to which you are blind. You see demons as untrustworthy, dangerous, most likely evil." Deep red hair flying she pointed at Hiei, "Do you truly believe he is evil, the way he cares for Yukina? What about Kurama, is he evil, as willing as he is to give his life for his _human_ mother? Yusuke, head over heels in love with Keiko? For god's sake, _Ella_? Do you believe _Ella_ is evil? How could you look at her and see the devil's spawn? How can you not see the very embodiment of innocence?" It almost sounded like the wind, not his sister, was shrieking the words at him.

He didn't cower but said, "I do not believe they are evil any longer." This seemed to placate her a bit, her hair fading to magenta rather than red. "No more evil than humans, at least. But they possess more spiritual power than humans, Cītā. And I have seen the negotiations and cooperation they are capable of. An organized revolt—"

The set her off, hair red and black immediately. "An organized revolt? An organized _revolt_? What in _hell_ would they be revolting _against_? Nothing but an unjust system that is biased against them! Organized revolt be damned! And it's been tried before anyway!" Her voice was piercing, and her words were shocking.

"Revolts have been attempted… before?" he said, completely stunned.

"Many times! But the only demons who want to overthrow us are the ones who are _not_ capable of organization, who do _not_ have the renown necessary to gain enough support! The ones in that position understand why we are here and why we are important. It's time you grow up and learn why they're important!"

"We're important because just as you three create the cycle of Birth, Life, and Death," Kurama said calmly, "just like humans, just like the inhabitants of Reikai, we are the ones to enjoy it."

Koenma slumped against the wall, his brain trying to process the information. Ella began to sing. Everyone stared. Hiei's eyes opened slightly, and he instinctively cataloged her next words into his memory.

"What?" she said, "I have a solo in my next choir concert."

* * *

Kiyoshi: Sorry if you find Fate's language offensive in any way. She didn't warn me that was coming, or I would have warned you.

FCL64: Shut up. They're fine with it.

Kiyoshi: How do you know?

FCL64: Now it's time for reviews!  
animegrlsteph: I know. Me too!  
heve-chan: well here's the new chapter!  
Kuramasredredrose: Yes, she is. You'd never guess it though...  
EmyNegro: yes... little-miss-sunshine-5yearold is kind of what I was aiming for. As Fate said in this chapter, she's so... innocent. As for updating or dying... you see what I chose, haha.

Kiyoshi: That's it? Normally your replies are a lot longer.

FCL64: Yeah, yeah, yeah.


	20. I Am the Dawn and the Sky and the Sun

Kiyoshi: Well, we're back.

FCL64: This chapter could get a bit confusing. Anything in italics is a quote. If there is an extended bit of italics separated somewhere in the middle by text not in italics, they are two different quotes. If you really care who said what, they will be cited, in order, at the end in one long list. I got the quotes from a book called 'Treasury of Spiritual Wisdom' by Andy Zubko and my math teacher's whiteboard.

Kiyoshi: We own—

FCL64: We? You are taking credit?

Kiyoshi: Just stop talking. We own Ella, Fate/Cīta, Gentlom, and Yuri.

* * *

_I Am the Dawn and the Sky and the Sun…_

The next day, Fate, Yuri and Gentlom were sitting in Ella's apartment waiting for Ella to return from choir practice.

Fate sighed. Yuri and Gentlom looked quizzically at her. She wasn't normally like this, as far as Yuri could tell. Excited, happy, even angry, sure, but hardly ever did she simply lack energy like this. It was like her fight with her brother had taken the wind out of her sails. As if she knew the question was coming, which she probably did, Fate said, "I don't understand. I've never had two people who've taken so long… it's not normal. And it kind of scares me. It makes me wonder if they're not meant to be together. Hiei's resisting me so fervently… I haven't seen any drastic change in Ella…"

Yuri just stared. "You haven't heard Ella talk about Hiei, then. And since when has Ella been normal?"

Gentlom chuckled, partially withdrawing from his solitude. "Nothing is normal about this situation, Cītā. Hiei has a twin sister, and they were born to an Ice Maiden. Go even further back; not only the uncommon set of two souls but the singularity of three. Ella's personality, as Yuri mentioned. The simple strength of Hiei's very soul." He paused then said, "Nothing is normal about those two. Why would you expect their responses to each other be typical?"

Fate didn't answer. She stood, smiling brightly, eyes sparkling. Their words had given her more enthusiasm. So much so that it pushed Yuri almost to the point of worry when Fate fled the room with her face full of purpose.

* * *

Fate was planning on going to see Hiei in a couple of days. What she wasn't planning on was finding Hiei waiting for her outside the door of the apartment.

Hiei looked at her and slowly asked, "What does  
d_ulce rīdentem, miserō quod omnēs  
__ēripit sēnsūs mihi: nam simul tē,  
__Lesbia, aspexī, nihil est super mī  
__Vōcis in ōre  
_mean?"

Fate withheld a small grin. "How clever, Kurama," she muttered to herself.  
"_Your sweet laughter, which in my wretched state  
__steals all my senses: for as soon as I see you,  
__Lesbia, no voice remains  
__in my mouth_.  
In this case it would be told as if from your perspective and the girl Lesbia would be representing Ella. Ah, how I love Catullus. Such a brilliant poet."

Hiei said nothing.

"As Leo Buscaglia said, _Happiness and love are just a choice away_."

"Love holds no meaning for me."

Fate winced. "_To fear love is to fear life_."

"I fear nothing."

Fate shook her head. "Everyone fears, Hiei. _Fear always springs from ignorance_."

"I fear nothing," Hiei snapped, getting angry.

"_Anger is a form of fear and evidence of the need of defense_, Hiei."

"I am not angry," Hiei said before adding threateningly, "yet."

"Yes you are. _When a man is wrong and won't admit it, he gets angry_," Fate recited.

"And what am I wrong about?" He glared, forcibly calming himself for no reason other than to prove her wrong.

"Love," she responded without hesitating. "_The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love_, Hiei. If love comes calling, you cannot hold it back. _Love is strong as death… many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it._"

Hiei's eyes suddenly let down walls that had been in place for his entire life. He didn't realize it, but Fate did. And she realized two things. First, the eyes were the windows to the soul. Second, Gentlom was right in saying that Hiei possessed a strong, if injured and hardened, soul. "If what you say is true, it doesn't matter. Love won't come calling on me." His voice revealed nothing of what she saw in his eyes; none of the subtle pain, no rage, just the normal superiority.

"It would if you would let it. You would be happier. _To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another_. And Ella isn't exactly hard to make happy." Then she added, "_Perfect love is to love the one through whom one becomes happy_."

"I don't deserve it. I have done so many things…" Hiei hardly knew what he was saying anymore; his soul was listening and speaking for him.

"_He who undervalues himself is justly undervalued by others_," Fate said, shaking her head sadly. "Everyone deserves to have the love of another."

"I've committed so many crimes, done so many bad things…"

"_The remedy of all blunders, the cure of blindness, the cure of crime, is love_."

"Even if I do deserve it—which is completely unlikely—I've no love to give, certainly not as much love as Ella deserves…"

"_The love in your heart wasn't put there to stay—Love isn't love until it's given away_," Fate told him. "And you do have the capacity to love her that much."

"I don't." His eyes seemed almost sad as he half-heartedly denied her claim.

"You're lying to yourself. But Hiei, _We know the truth; not only by reason, but also by the heart_."

"I don't know how to tell the truth then. I don't know what the truth is."

"Listen to your heart. _Every man, in reality, is two men. The man he is and the man he could be_. Be that man, Hiei. I have faith that you are capable of being a man worthy of Ella."

Hiei looked up, slightly dazed, then walked away, moving more slowly than she'd ever seen him move.

Watching him, Fate said to herself, "_Advice is seldom welcome; those who need it most, like it least_."

* * *

FCL64: I feel like there's something I need to say…

Kiyoshi: How about citing the people you quoted? Catullus, (translation of Catullus), Leo Buscaglia, Bertrand Russell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fred Van Amburgh, Thomas Haliburton, Somerset Maugham, Old Testament, Gottfried Leibnitz, Sören Kierkegaard, William Hazlitt, Ralph Waldo Emerson, anonymous, Blaise Pascal, Earl Nightengale, and Samuel Johnson. Lots of names…

FCL64: Yes, now on to reviews!  
Crazy anime chick since 1993: I really like that sentence too. Thanks for the review!  
XxMonixX: Yep, I will finish it. I promise. I never leave a story unfinished, unless no one is reading it.  
heve-chan: Yes... a solo. DEFINITE Hiei/Ella moment, like you said. But Hiei kind of had his own little realization moment in this chapter, didn't he?  
animegrlsteph: You say you like the colors for Ella's apartment? You just wait till the next chapter...  
Kuramasredredrose: Glad you liked the ending... I just felt that Ella needed to say something completely, uhhh, mundane after Fate & Koenma's conversation. Thanks for the review!


	21. I Am One With the One

FCL64: _sigh_…

Kiyoshi: Something wrong?

FCL64: Second to last chapter… Ah, well! Y'all know who I own. Here we go!

* * *

_I Am One With the One…_

Monday came. Hiei was not at school. Ella came home, Yuri with her as usual, to find someone had picked the lock. The door was cracked. The smell of wet paint drifted out.

Ella stepped into her apartment and laughed in delight. The blue walls were just that—blue. Someone had finished painting them. The same could be said for her purple kitchen cabinets and lime green bathroom walls. The short hall was all sunshine yellow and in her now completely-orange bedroom she found Hiei, asleep on the floor.

Yuri walked in and said dryly, "Somehow I doubt he realized how exhausting painting walls can be."

Ella giggled. "I'll thank him when he wakes up." Her eyes were shining.

They went back to the living room to hear a knock on the door. Ella skipped over to it and welcomed in Fate, Gentlom, Shuichi, Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"We've been told to observe." Yusuke put air quotes on the word _observe_. It was evident he felt it was a waste of time. He went to sit up against the wall, but Fate stopped him.

"That paint is wet. Ella, what happened?" she asked, as he collapsed in the middle of the room instead.

Kuwabara asked a different question before Ella could answer. "What is Hiei doing in your room?"

"Sleeping."

Everyone stared. And stared. And finally Yuri said, "We think he underestimated how exhausting painting can be."

"_Hiei_ did all this?" Fat asked in delight.

"Yeah. And then he evidently collapsed on my bedroom floor."

"This I gotta see for myself," Yusuke said, jumping up and heading towards the bedroom with Kuwabara following closely behind. A loud shout of laughter followed by a cursing match indicated that Hiei was awake.

He walked out, glaring at the world until he caught sight of Ella's sparkling silver eyes. His bad mood dropped immediately, stunning Yusuke and Kuwabara into silence.

They all noticed that he had paint of all different shades splattered on his clothing. It appeared that he hadn't gotten along with the paint very well, but that he had persevered anyway. But Ella didn't pay attention to any of that. She just smiled joyously. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

Hiei just nodded.

Ella danced and twirled to the kitchen and dug up something that could feed all of them. She sang as she prepared the meal. Another knock on the door and Yuri got up to allow Koenma and Botan in. "Hi!" Ella called.

"Hello!" Botan sang back.

"Hello…" Koenma said, much less certainly.

Fate's eyes were narrowed, glaring at him from the floor. Koenma put up his hands and said, "Cītā, don't fly of the handle just yet. I just came to tell you that I thought about what you said. I realized that demons really aren't different than humans or the inhabitants of Reikai. I realized that any revolt would either fail or be justified. I realized that I've often interfered where I had no right to do so." There was a long pause. "I realized that I was wrong and that you were right."

Fate was on her feet in a flash, hair shining with greenish tones. Happiness. He flinched until he realized she intended nothing more than to hug him. "Finally," she whispered.

A few minutes later, Ella appeared with the cheap, quickly prepared meal. It wasn't great, but it was definitely the thought that counted.

They ate and laughed and talked together. Hiei stayed rather quiet despite the fact that Ella had decided to sit next to him. Actually, she was sitting closer to him than anyone had ever been allowed. But he neither moved nor made an attempt to get her to move. He just sat there and ate. As Ella collected the dishes to go and wash them, the room stopped when Hiei spoke. "It was delicious, Ella."

It was a lie and everyone knew it. And that's why they were all so shocked. Hiei was going out of his way to compliment her. Ella smiled. "Don't lie; I know just how it tasted. But saying that is sweet." Yusuke could barely restrain a snort. Both Kuwabara and Kurama were biting their lips to keep from laughing.

Ella and Yuri had hardly finished the dishes and Kurama, Yuri, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei all stated their need to leave.

Yuri was looking at Hiei. She was still trying to decided if she trusted him with Ella's emotions. Hiei caught sight of her. "What are you staring at, Woman?"

"I have a name."

"I prefer Woman. It's easier to remember," Hiei replied. Kurama didn't bother to inform Hiei that he had just given Yuri a nickname—usually a sign of friendship, or at least of tolerance. Yuri knew exactly what it meant—it meant that whether Hiei liked her or not, he would put up with her for Ella's sake. And that was what made her trust him.

"Thanks again, Hiei. The walls really are beautiful," Ella said. She suddenly threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek.

His eyes widened and he froze. Then he raced out of the room. Ella looked slightly hurt but understood his reaction when Yusuke asked, "Was it just me or was Hiei's face pink?"

Kurama only nodded.

Fate sang softly, "_You couldn't see beyond yourself, your pain and wounded pride—But now you know the truth is in the way you feel inside_."

* * *

FCL64: Well, here we are at the end of the chapter.

Kiyoshi: The quote is from a song called 'Yellow Rose in Texas' by Johnny Lee.

FCL64: Johnny Lee _with_ Lane Brody. How could you forget Lane Brody when she's the one who sings that line?

Kiyoshi: Reviews then?

FCL64: Sure.  
EmyNegro: Sorry that last chapter was a bit hard to follow. I tried my hardest, but Fate is a confusing person. As for Hiei romance... there won't be much because the entire point of the story is that Hiei is being stupid and trying to fight what amounts to his very nature. Sorry.  
animegrlsteph: sorry the quotes were confusing. I'm not quite sure why... maybe I should have just said 'italics are quotes' and left it at that...  
Kuramasredredrose: Glad you enjoyed it! And I read your review and I'm like, He said he loved Ella? I don't remember writing that... And then I went back and checked and, sure enough, there it was. Ah well. I am very glad you felt Hiei was in character. Hope you feel the same way about this chapter!


	22. And I Am the Dawn

FCL64: We have come to the final chapter.

Kiyoshi: Alas…

FCL64: Was that sarcastic?

Kiyoshi: Perhaps… Readers, she wrote this chapter a while ago, but she was never truly happy with it. Seeing your desire for a Hiei/Ella moment, she realized what it was missing, and she wrote it in. So it's actually your fault she's so happy with this chapter.

FCL64: I maintain ownership of Ella, Yuri, Gentlom and Fate. The song Ella sings is 'Someday' by Celtic Woman. And, as a reminder, the lyrics that make up the chapter titles are 'The Sky and the Dawn and the Sun' by Celtic Woman. Here's the finale.

* * *

_And I Am the Dawn…_

A week later was Ella's choir concert. There were three choirs at the school—a girls', a boys', and a coed a cappella choir. Ella participated in both the girls' and a cappella choirs. The choirs were performing one at a time.

Hiei, Kurama, Fate, Gentlom, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Yuri were all there. Yusuke and Kuwabara were only there because they didn't have anything else to do. Hiei all but slept through the group performances.

Then each choir had picked two seniors to perform solos before the three-choir finale. Hiei was not happy about listening to the first five solos. But his attention was caught when the choir director announced, "Now, Ella for the a cappella choir with the final solo. She will be singing 'Someday.'"

Despite singing for the a cappella choir she was using music. The music was quiet and a bit slow. Ella's voice swept through the room.

"_Someday, when we are wiser,  
__When the world's older,  
__When we have learned…  
__I pray someday we may yet  
__Live to live and to let live_"

"You'd think she wrote the song herself," Yuri muttered to Fate, "It suits her outlook so well."

Fate nodded and the song continued to prove Yuri right.

"_Someday, life will be fairer,  
__Need will be rarer,  
__And greed will not pay.  
__Godspeed this bright millennium,  
__On its way, let it come someday_"

Ella's eyes searched the audience looking for something, someone.

Fate whispered something to Yuri and was surprised when Hiei waved a hand at her and hissed, "Shut up," without ever taking his eyes off of Ella.

"_Someday, our fight will be won, and  
__We'll stand in the sun in  
__That bright afternoon…  
__Till then, on days when the sun  
__Is gone, we'll hang on,  
__If we wish upon the moon_"

Her voice had captured the audience, holding it in something quite like a trance. Very few were immune to it; only those who had heard Ella sing many times before could resist its pull.

But despite having heard her sing before, Hiei was still caught in the moment. Ella's voice was more beautiful than anything he could remember. With one possible exception. And that was her appearance at this very moment. Her black hair shone, and the silver streaks sparkled in their constant imitation of stars. She didn't wear any makeup; she didn't need it. He could see those strange, lovely, silver eyes even from this distance. She wore a simple black dress that ended just below her knees and silver flats.

Her eyes still searched the crowd.

"_There are some days, dark and bitter,  
__Seems we haven't got a prayer,  
__But a prayer for something better  
__Is the one thing we all share_"

She found the person she was searching for. Her eyes locked on Hiei's face and were filled with light.

Yuri whispered to Fate, "She has eyes only for him."

Fate smiled, "Yes. And looking at him… my job is done."

Somehow Ella's voice grew more beautiful when her eyes found Hiei.

"_Someday, when we are wiser  
__When the whole world is older,  
__When we have love_"

"I honestly don't think she's singing that bit for anyone but Hiei and herself," Yuri sighed happily. Fate nodded, completely content.

"_And I pray, someday we may yet  
__Live to live and one day, someday…  
__Someday, life will be fairer,  
__Need will be rarer,  
__And greed will not pay_"

Some dramatic change had finally taken hold of Hiei's heart. Fate's words echoed in his head and he understood. He truly could be a man worthy of the beautiful woman standing on the stage.

"_Godspeed, this bright millennium,  
__Let it come,  
__If we wish upon the moon…  
__One day, someday…soon_"

The music faded and the audience applauded. Fate stood silently. "Goodbye Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yuri, Kurama, Hiei." Hiei didn't notice. "Coming Gentlom?" Gentlom stood as well and they floated out of the room, fading in the noise. Ella didn't notice them leaving.

After the finale, Ella found them. "Where's Fate?" she asked.

"She and Gentlom left; she said her job was done," Yuri replied.

Hiei stood there awkwardly. "You sang wonderfully, Ella."

Kurama was too shocked to do anything; this was a sincere compliment. Hiei didn't care that there were other people around. Yusuke's and Kuwabara's chins dropped for the same reason. Yuri grabbed hold of all three of their shirts and dragged them away to give Hiei and Ella some privacy.

Hiei stood there silently for nearly a minute. Then, for once picking up on something that wasn't said aloud, Ella told him, "Follow me. There's a place over here, quieter, more private." Hiei did as she suggested, following her to a recess at the back of the auditorium which hid them from view.

He still said nothing. He couldn't. He didn't know how. He'd been hiding his emotions from the world for so long he did not know how to put them into words.

But Ella knew. She knew that Hiei was struggling. She knew what he was struggling with. She knew why he was struggling. She knew what he was feeling. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. And she knew how to put those feelings into words.

"I don't know when or how or why, but that doesn't really matter, does it?" she asked, taking a step closer to Hiei and grasping his hands. He gripped hers back instinctively. "All I know is that I love you, Hiei."

Then Hiei, acting on an impulse he had never before felt in his life, he dropped Ella's hands. He put one of his hands on either side of her face and drew her in, kissing her.

A moment later, he drew away. "And I love you. You are the most important thing in the world to me." Then he kissed her again.

When Ella and Hiei approached the others, Ella was holding Hiei's hand, and he wasn't exactly resisting. He looked awkward and completely unsure of himself, but he was still letting her hold his hand. Ella was radiant. Yuri and the others said nothing—mostly from shock—and they all walked out together.

The Life Source just smiled.

* * *

FCL64: And that is our story.

Kiyoshi: It is dedicated to heve-chan, WorldsAngel, Kuramasredredrose, EmyNegro, animegrlsteph, Crazy anime chick since 1993, XxMonixX, babygirl1998, The Fire Fox of the Red Moon, Kit-Kat-Kitsune, Dyani91, Mary S. Jane, chocolateluvr13, , SecretPassion21, and no name 128.

FCL64: Final review replies. Anyone who reviews this chapter will receive a normal, private review response.  
heve-chan: There's the solo and the Hiei/Ella moment. Hope that moment was good enough. :)  
WorldsAngel: I'm glad you enjoy it. Yes... Fate's personality is a bit infectious. Here's the rest I have to write, at least for this story. Hope you enjoy it as much as all the other chapters.  
Kuramasredredrose: NO! I don't want you to die! That would be bad, bad, bad. Particularly since you wouldn't be able to read THIS chapter. Hope you enjoyed this story, and thanks for all your support.


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